Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

Description

Oribis are members of the antelope family that look like small gazelles with long legs and necks, short tails, and large ears. Males have thin, erect horns.  Oribis are bright reddish to yellow-brown in color with white underneath, a black pompom tail, and black spot below each ear.  These spots are scent glands used for territorial marking by the males.

They are not sociable antelopes, but form temporary groups to defend their territory after annual fires remove their grassland habitat.  However, these groups scatter easily when alarmed.  When the grassland is tall enough, they live in monogamous pairs, with a tendency toward polygyny (a mating practice in which a male has more than one female sexual partner).

Oribi couples and other family members perform a dunging ceremony, initiated by the female, that is important for social bonds.  During the dunging ceremony, the female assumes an elimination crouch to invite the male.  The male sniffs her hind quarters, marks the grass stem, paws, and then adds his deposit.  Afterwards, other family or group members participate.  Oribis maintain dung middens.

Their predators include hyenas, and crocodiles.  Large eagles and pythons prey on oribi calves.  When a predator approaches, oribis rely on flight to escape (a running motion called stotting) and often band together, but then scatter in all directions because they are not a true herding species.  They also whistle in a series of short blasts or a sustained shrill whistle when disturbed.

How to See

Oribis are a Gorongosa special. They are very commonly seen on game drives through Gorongosa National Park, but not in other nearby parks. Look for them feeding in grassy areas or hiding atop thicket-covered termite mounds.  Around dusk they can commonly be found grazing on the short grass of Chitengo’s airstrip.

Oribis like open grassland that is not too tall, so they can see.  They are found most commonly in floodplains, in association with bulk grazers like hippos, buffalos, and zebras that keep grasses short.  In Gorongosa National Park, they are recorded to eat 11 different herbs and the foliage of 7 different trees.

Status

IUCN: Lower Risk, Conservation Dependent
Africa: Uncommon
Mozambique: Uncommon
Gorongosa: Common

Conservation

The Oribi population in Gorongosa National Park is very healthy, and there are no conservation plans at this time.