The eland is an artiodactyl animal that lives on the African continent.

Their total number is more than 140 thousand individuals, 55% live in protected national parks, and 35% on private property.

Watching breeding big cattle, zoologists stated the fact that their population in wild nature steadily declining, but increasing in parks and private estates.

Antelopes of this species are the second largest in the world. The female is slightly smaller than the male, the body length of the animal reaches up to 1.7 meters, the weight varies from 523 to 613 kg, occasionally, but larger specimens are found - which can reach a mass of more than a ton.

The body of the African inhabitant is colored brown-beige, but the coat color can be different shade, it directly depends on the environment. The male is lighter than the female.

The shape of the head of the animal is no different from the forms of this species, the eyes are round, their color is brown. The ears are medium in size, densely overgrown both inside and outside with dense vegetation.

On the withers and neck there is a 10 cm mane, and also on the lower part of the neck between the humerus and jaw there is a hairy pouch. The tail is 45 cm long, at its end is a fluffy brush, consisting of hard hairs.

Both sexes have a pair of long, twisted, slightly curved horns at the end; in the male they are shorter and thicker, while in the female they are thinner and longer. Traditionally, they are used by males to clarify the relationship between relatives during the rut, however, a female with horns is able to protect her offspring from encroachment by non-friends.

The preferred place for this African animal to live is a landscape in the form of:

• Plains;
• steppes;
• Deserts;
• Savannah;
• Semi-deserts;

About seven thousand individuals live in the Serengeti desert. They try to avoid dense thickets and forests, prefer pastures that are endowed with lush flowering grass. Also, the eland can be seen in the zoo "Askania-Nova".

From the outside, this artiodactyl animal can hardly be attributed to nimble and agile horses, but it can reach speeds of more than 75 km / h and overcome high obstacles.

They try to stay in small groups of up to 30 individuals, but sometimes you can meet huge herds over 700 head. Territorially lead sedentary life, but in the area they can migrate in search of better pastures.

Usually the herd is led by an experienced leader, he is very kind to young animals, to females with small calves. Sometimes, during the transition from one place to another, fierce fights arise between males for the right to be dominant and the main male in the herd.

In a fight, they do not spare strength and the opponent, they often get serious injuries, which later give a reason to attack the bleeding herbivore.

The eland's organism is perfectly adapted to the extremely hot and arid climate. There are mega-hot days in which her body can turn on a protective reaction in the form of: increase in own body temperature by more than 6 degrees. This helps the animal avoid unnecessary fluid loss from the body.

Enemies

Like all herbivores living in Africa, the eland is no exception, it has a huge number of enemies. The most cruel are representatives of the cat family. Since they are fast, agile and insatiable, here are just a few of them:

• Lions;
• Jaguars;
• Cheetahs;
• Pythons;

As you already understood, the list can be continued, but from our point of view it is enough to understand what is not easy for this animal in African steppes and savannas.

Nutrition

The diet of this herbivore is very poor, grass and leaves of trees.

Females of this species are able to bear offspring after a year, but males reach puberty by 4-5 years. They breed year-round, after mating, the female will bring offspring after 9 months.

In the wild, the eland animal lives no more than 16 - 22 years.

Currently, this species is not threatened with extinction.

This animal species has been under human supervision since 1966. This mammal takes root very well at home.

People only recently began to tame him to domestication, and these attempts were successful, thanks to the calm nature and good disposition of the ungulate.

So the person got fat milk more than three times than cow's milk Moreover, its nutritional qualities make it not only useful, but also healing.

Man has another advantage thanks to the friendly union between man and animal; among the local population, not only milk is valued, but also the canna skin and its fat.

The eland is the largest of all antelopes. This large animal is characterized by a quick reaction and amazing jumping ability. When chasing, it can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h!

The eland genus is represented by two species: the common eland and the giant or western eland. The common eland is found, as a rule, in the sparsely forested savannah in Central Africa. The giant eland once inhabited the open plains from Senegal to southern Sudan. Today it is extremely rare in Senegal.

Description

The eland is the largest of all antelopes.

The mass of males sometimes reaches one ton, and the height at the withers is 180 cm. The horns of the eland are straight, but twisted at the bottom like a corkscrew and reach a length of more than one meter. In females, the horns are much shorter and weaker.

In general, elands resemble cows, just as heavy and slow, but at the same time they are more graceful and bouncy. The color of cannes is very variable. In general, dark red color prevails.

The common eland has a grayish-yellow coloration, sometimes with slightly pronounced stripes. The giant eland is more red with 14 stripes on the sides. Both species of antelope darken slightly with age, acquiring a bluish color.

Lifestyle

Usually cannes are kept in small groups of 8-10 individuals, but sometimes they gather in hundreds of herds (during migration). Eland migration begins, as a rule, with the onset of drought, and then the antelopes move to the vicinity of river valleys.

Most of the time, elands are grazing. Their main food is fresh grass. When there is no fresh grass, antelopes eat the foliage of shrubs, fruits wild plants. Cannes can go without water for a long time, but when there are watering places nearby, they visit them regularly.

Cannes are very careful and do not let anyone close to them. The disturbed herd leaves at a fast trot, making large jumps up and down on the run, sometimes jumping over each other. In addition to humans, only the lion threatens elands, although sometimes young animals become victims of cheetahs, leopards and even hyena dogs.

In a number of countries, attempts have been repeatedly made to domesticate the eland. This animal gives a large volume of milk and good meat. And today, in a number of countries in South and East Africa, farmers keep cannes in fenced pens.

• Oreas canna
• Buselaphus oreas
• Tragelaphus oryx

Kannu Photo - Kannu Habitat

In ancient times, huge herds of cannes roamed Africa. Today, this antelope, outwardly resembling a tour, can only be found in national parks and reserves.

Kanna Ryad - Artiodactyls
Family - Bovids

Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Body length: 210-345 cm.
The length of the horns of the female is 60-75 cm, the males are up to 120 cm.
Height at the withers: 150-180 cm.
Weight: 450-680 kg, adult bulls up to 950 kg.

BREEDING
Puberty: females - from 2, males - from 3 years.
Mating period: depends on the region; calves are born throughout the year.
Pregnancy: 8.5-9 months.
Number of cubs: 1.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: keep in herds.
Food: leaves, grass, fruits.
Lifespan: in captivity up to 25 in nature 8-10 years.

Related SPECIES
There are 9 known species of antelopes with the same twisted horns.

The main reason for the sharp decline in the number cannes is uncontrolled hunting and cultivation of land in their places of residence. Reassuring is the fact that the animals breed easily in captivity. Several generations of cannes, born in captivity, have been living in various zoos and reserves for several generations.
BREEDING
Canna breeding . The mating season of Cannes falls on different time, depending on the region and usually starts from December - January. At this time, females usually unite in small herds and make attempts to attract the attention of males. Only a strong bull mates, which must earn such a right in battle. Pregnancy lasts about 8.5-9 months. When the time of the birth of the calf approaches, the expectant mother finds shelter in a dense bush, where she brings one cub. A newborn calf weighs between 22 and 36 kg. The first four weeks it spends in a shelter, under the cover of dense bushes. His mother visits him several times a day to feed him. Subsequently, when the calf gets stronger, he joins the herd with his mother. The calf constantly maintains voice contact with the mother. The lactation period stops when the calf is 5 months old, but by the end of the first year of life, he remains with his mother. Young females are in the stage long time. Characteristic features males in male calves appear only after reaching puberty. An adult bull has a strong, powerful body, a large leather fold at the throat and raised withers.
FOOD.
Canna food. Cannes are not picky in the choice of food, they feed mainly on leaves, young shoots, branches of trees and bushes. Cannes grass is eaten only as an exception, and young and juicy shoots are usually chosen. Their small, low-crowned molars are better suited for chewing leaves than grass. In the hot midday hours, the animals are in the shade, calmly chewing food.
Cannes graze only in the cool morning or evening. If it is hot enough in the evening or in the morning, then the cannes feed at night. When searching for food, they are constantly on the move. Cannes importantly walk across the savannah in search of leaves and juicy fruits. When leaves are scarce, antelopes are satisfied with tree bark, fruits or grains, and various seeds. Sometimes they even dig up the ground to get to the nutritious rhizomes and tubers. To get to the leaves, animals bend down tree branches with their horns. Cannes are able to do without water for a long time. They get all the moisture they need from food.
LIFESTYLE
Cannes lifestyle. Cannes live in open spaces - from semi-deserts to mountainous areas. Animals prefer rare forests, savannas and plains overgrown with shrubs, where they find refuge from the scorching sun. Antelopes unite in herds, usually numbering from 25 to 70 individuals, however, during migrations, herds with 1000 animals appear. At the head of the group, consisting of females and calves, there are only two males. Migration begins with the onset of the dry period, when the bulk of eland moves to the territory adjacent to the river valleys. Animals roam in search of food are always on their guard. Cannes are very cautious, therefore, in an open area, they do not let a person closer than 500 m. In addition to a person, only lions threaten adult elands. Young animals become victims of leopards, cheetahs and hyena dogs. Often a herd of females, protecting their calves, fights back against cheetahs.
CANNES AND MAN
Over the past hundred years, the number of these antelopes has been greatly reduced. The reason for the catastrophic decline in numbers lies in intensive hunting and improper economic policy states in which the eland lives. Sheep and cattle are carriers of various diseases that the body of wild ungulates cannot resist. Today, large herds of cannes are found exclusively in national parks. Attempts to domesticate the eland were already made in the 19th century. There are more than 2,000 farms in the Transvaal where they are bred. Cannes are also bred in the Askania-Nova reserve in southern Ukraine. Cannes are grown for their meat and milk, which is believed to have medicinal properties.

OR DO YOU KNOW THAT...
Already in ancient rock paintings you can see images of people hunting eland. Such drawings were found in the Kalahari Desert.
Western eland - one of the subspecies of eland - is distinguished by the exceptional length of the horns. The record length reached one hundred and twenty centimeters. The western eland is included in the IUCN Red List.
During the run of cannes, a dry clicking sound is heard, which occurs due to the blows of the animal's toes against each other. These sounds can be heard at a great distance. The same sound during the run produces a reindeer.
Cannes are very agile animals. When they flee from danger, they can easily jump over an obstacle 2 m high.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF CANNES

Coat: buffy, grayer in older males, dark gray in older males. During molting, antelopes lose it in large pieces. From the dark stripe that runs along the spine, white stripes 1-2 cm wide stretch down the ribs. A black tassel at the end of the tail.
Horns: twisted in a double helix. The males are longer and slightly bent at the ends.
Chairman: narrow, with a long, narrow nose, pointed ears. Males have curly bangs on their foreheads and often two white stripes on their foreheads. leading edge eyes.
On the back of individuals of both sexes is a short standing mane, and on the neck there are several folds of skin that form a dewlap, overgrown long hair. It is especially noticeable in adult males.
LIVING PLACE
Reserves and farms in Central and East Africa, a separate population lives on the Draken mountain range in South Africa.
PRESERVATION
Previously, numerous eland populations lived in the territory from Sudan to East Africa and Cape Town. As a result of hunting, development Agriculture and epidemics of livestock diseases, the number of cannes was greatly reduced.

Class - mammals
Detachment - artiodactyls

Suborder - ruminants

Family - bovids

Rod - Cannes

Appearance

characteristic outward sign of this species are screwed straight horns, which are present in both sexes, "thickened" shoulders and from two to fifteen light stripes on the front of the body. The coat is yellow-brown, mostly pale, which in more mature individuals becomes gray-blue on the neck and at the shoulders. Adult males develop skin folds hanging down from the neck and a tuft of hair on the forehead. The weight is from 500 to 1000 kg, and the body length is from 2 to 3 m. The height at the withers is an average of 1.50 m. In its dimensions, the canna resembles a cow, but makes a more slender impression.

Habitat

Cannes live on open plains, they can be found almost everywhere - in arid savannahs and in the foothill meadows of East, Central and South Africa.

Lifestyle in nature

Despite the fact that elands are usually leisurely animals, they can reach speeds of up to 70 km / h. In addition, they are known to be very good jumpers. During the heat of the day, they rest in the shade of trees or shrubs, and become active in the evening twilight. Cannes feed on foliage, sometimes eat grass and dig up tubers and roots with their front hooves.

Herds consist of an average of 25 individuals, but under favorable conditions can include up to 700 animals. Large herds, however, are usually temporary connections without a solid connection. As a rule, groups consist of an adult male and several females, as well as young males and cubs. In rare cases, a group may contain more than one adult male. This alignment is preceded by mandatory battles for supremacy in the hierarchy. In such fights, elands cross their horns and try to injure the enemy, which often really leads to serious injuries.

Cannes are perfectly adapted to high temperatures its environment. During droughts, their body temperature rises by 7 °C. Thanks to this, they avoid fluid loss due to sweating.

reproduction

The ceremonial preceding mating is simple. Usually, the male pursues the female by pressing his head against her side, or by resting his head and neck on the female's back. Pregnancy in cannes lasts 8.5-9 months, the female gives birth to one calf. 1 cub is born, less often 2. Childbirth is more often timed to coincide with the beginning of the rainy period. In Kenya mating season- October November; in South Africa from March to May or August - September.

The Cannes diet consists of 60% hay or straw, 25% herbs and 15% mixed feed (you can use compound feed for cows), vegetables and cereals. In general, the diet of the nilgai is somewhere between the diet of cattle and deer.

Cannes milk and meat are highly valued in the deli market and are becoming more and more popular.

Life expectancy in captivity is up to 25 years.