Species profile
About the coke’s hartebeest
Known throughout East Africa as the kongoni, Coke's hartebeest is the plainest and most angular of the plains antelope: sandy-tan, high at the shoulder, with a remarkably long narrow face and short bracket-shaped horns set on a bony pedicel.
That long face keeps the eyes high while the animal grazes head-down in long grass, and hartebeest are among the most vigilant grazers on the plains, often the first to alert a mixed herd. They are common through the Serengeti and Ngorongoro and are frequently seen standing on higher ground.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Diurnal grazer, alert and quick to run with a rocking gait that looks awkward but is fast and enduring. Posts sentries on rises and old termite mounds.
Social life
Herds of about four to fifteen females and young with a territorial bull; bachelor groups occupy poorer ground.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
An exceptionally long face and horns that rise, bend sharply outward, then hook back — shaped differently from any other Tanzanian antelope.
