Species profile
About the common eland
The common eland is the heaviest antelope in the world, and an old bull, blue-grey with a heavy dewlap and a dense tuft on the forehead, is an imposing animal. Despite the bulk, eland are famous jumpers, capable of clearing an obstacle taller than a person.
They are also wary, and usually move away long before a vehicle gets close, which makes a good eland sighting more of an achievement than the animal's size suggests. Mikumi, Ngorongoro and the greater Serengeti all hold them; Mkomazi's dry bush country is another stronghold.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Active by day and in the cool of the night, moving long distances between grazing areas. The tendons in an eland’s legs make a distinct clicking sound as a herd walks.
Social life
Loose, fluid herds of a few dozen that merge and split; old bulls are often solitary. There are no defended territories, only a dominance order among bulls.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
The heaviest antelope in the world, an exceptional jumper, and the audible knee-click by which a herd can be heard before it is seen.
