Gerenuk - giraffidae Gazelle Bashny.Net

     




Gerenuk or Gazelle giraffidae (lat. Litocranius walleri) African antelope whose name comes from the Somali words "Garang".











Gerenuk – the inhabitant of the treeless plains and desert areas of East Africa. Common on the plains of Tanzania, and further North along the coast through the territory of Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia. Recently lived in Sudan and Egypt, where it even tried to domesticate.

Because of its extremely long and thin neck and long legs, gerenuk anyone can be confused. Its height is 95 cm, weight 35-52 kg.

The top coat is reddish-brown, sides lighter. A clear line separates the nearly white lower body. Around the eyes are white spots that taper towards the mouth. The horns are only males, they are very thick and short, averaging only 30 cm They form a kind of arched back arc, which at the end changes the direction of bending and bends forward.





In nature gerenuk massively never meet and do not form large groups. Males are strictly territorial, and jealously guard their fiefdom. They use a secret allocated predprazdnichnoy gland, which are labeled trees and shrubs on the perimeter.

Females with calves form herds of up to 10 individuals. They move freely through the territory of any male. Grown, but still immature males form their own bachelor herds, and kept so until then, until you grow up and not be able to stake out its own plot.





Mate have gerenuks is preceded by a complex mating ritual. When the female meets a potential partner, it presses ears to the head, and the male is aiming her hips preglednici secret. Since then, he pursues the female, as if guarding it, and periodically "tapping" her thighs on the front legs. About the readiness of females to mate, a partner learns to enzymes in the urine, which he is constantly sniffing. Gerenuk each male tries to mate with the high females. In a litter is usually one, rarely 2 cub after 5.5 months of pregnancy. What to season the breeding season is not bound, and depends on the presence of food.

After a few minutes after the birth of little gerenuk gets to his feet and is able to follow the mother. It is noteworthy that young females become independent at the age years, while males remain with their mother until the age of two. Due to this feature, gerenuk no specific time cycle for procreation. Animals in nature live on average 10-12 years.

Antelopes feed on leaves of trees and shrubs, located at high altitude. Actually, that's what they are in the process of evolution has acquired long necks and legs. If necessary, the gerenuk can stand on their hind legs, and balancing to reach the topmost branches, although often still based the front on the trunk or branches. A constant source of water animals do not need, often satisfied by the moisture available in food.

Gerenuk main enemies are lions, hyenas, cheetahs and leopards. Noticing a threat to the antelope usually freezes, trying to blend in with the environment. When danger is very close, we have to take off. By the way, people, particularly the Somalis, they're not gerenuk, believing him to be a relative of the camel, which for nomadic tribes to be sacred.





 

 

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