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www.staidenshomeschool.com 2007 (c)
 
 
(c) Donnette Davis 2007www.staidenshomeschool.com
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cover photo: This picture is of the Giant Eland at the Houston zoo. Licensedunder the Creative Commons License.
The Giant Eland
 
(Taurotragus derbianus alsoknown as the Derby Eland) is an open forestsavannah antelope. It is found in Central AfricanRepublic, Sudan, Cameroon and Senegal. There aretwo subspecies: the endangered T. d. derbianus,found in Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park, andthe low risk T. d. gigas, found in Central Africa.Giant Eland stand 150 to 175 centimetres (4.9 to 5.7feet) at the shoulder and weigh from five to ninehundred kilograms. The coat is chestnut, darker inmales than females. There are around ten whitevertical stripes on the body as well as a whiteunderside and black definition around the base ofthe neck and along the nose. There is a bit of adewlap under the throat and a short black manerunning down the back almost to the back legs.Both sexes have horns which are relatively straightwith many twists. Males have larger horns thanfemales, reaching 120 centimetres.Giant Eland live in open forest and savannah wherethey eat grass, leaves and branches. Giant Eland aremainly nocturnal.Giant Eland form groups of around twenty animals,although double that is possible. These herds arenomadic, migrating extensively.The Common Eland, or Southern Eland, (Taurotragusoryx) is a savannah and plains antelope found in Eastand Southern Africa.The Common Eland stands around two metres at theshoulder and weighs 275 kilograms (600 lb) to atonne (2,200 lb). Females are sometimes less thanhalf the weight of adult males.
 
 
(c) Donnette Davis 2007www.staidenshomeschool.com
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This species and the so-called Giant Eland, which areactually about the same size as the Common, arethe largest of world's antelopes.Common Eland females have a tan coat, while themales' coat is a darker tan with a blue tinge to it,there may be a single white stripe vertically placedon the sides. The males have dense fur on their foreheads and a large dewlap. Both sexes havehorns, which are about 65 centimetres (26 in) longand almost straight. The horns of the female arelonger but thinner than those of the male.Common Eland live on the savannah and eat grass,branches and leaves. They are diurnal but tendtowards inactivity during the heat of the day. Herdsare usually between thirty and eighty individuals butare known to reach upwards of four hundred. TheCommon Eland has an unusual social life. They comeand go, taking advantage of herd life when theyneed to without forming close ties.They are very agile and can easily jump a 1.5 mfence from a standing start.Predators taking adult Eland in the wild are mainlyLion and African Wild Dog (Endangered).Common Eland are sometimes considered part of thegenus Tragelaphus, but it is usually categorised asTaurotragus with the Giant Eland.The name eland is derived from the Dutch word for moose. When Dutch settlers came to the CapeProvince they named the largest wild ruminantherbivore they met with the name of the hugenorthern herbivore.In Dutch the animal is called eland antilope todistinguish it from the moose, which are found in thenorthern boreal forests.
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