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Hirola

Mammals

The hirola, Beatragus hunteri, also called Hunter's hartebeest or Hunter's antelope, is a medium-sized antelope with a tan to rufous coat, white inner ears and sharp lyrate horns. Dark glands below the eyes, ringed by white spectacles, give it the name four-eyed antelope. It is the only living member of its genus, and genetic studies suggest it is closer to Alcelaphus than to Damaliscus. The species survives only in Kenya along the border with Somalia, and its population fell by 85 to 90 percent in the 1980s to a few hundred animals. Its loss would be the first extinction of a mammalian genus on mainland Africa in modern times. Hirola favour short green grass in dry grassland and wooded savannah and graze mainly.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Herbivore 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 1
Threats
Biological Resource Use 1
Relationship to People
Hunted or Fished 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Conservation Status
Critically Endangered 1
Lifespan
15 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Bovidae, Taxa
Source Hirola (Wikipedia)

In Biome

Grassland, Biomes
Source Hirola (Wikipedia)
Savanna, Biomes
Source Hirola (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Kenya

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Hirola (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
The hirola (Beatragus hunteri), also called Hunter's hartebeest or Hunter's antelope, is a critically endangered antelope species found as of now, only in Kenya along the border of Somalia.
Somalia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Hirola (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
The hirola (Beatragus hunteri), also called Hunter's hartebeest or Hunter's antelope, is a critically endangered antelope species found as of now, only in Kenya along the border of Somalia.
Sources
1. Hirola (Wikipedia)
  • Lead
    The hirola (Beatragus hunteri), also called Hunter's hartebeest or Hunter's antelope, is a critically endangered antelope species found as of now, only in Kenya along the border of Somalia.
  • Ecology
    Hirola do however favour short green grass and in 392 of 674 observations (58%) hirola were grazing on growths of short green grass around waterholes.
  • Threats
    It might be vulnerable to poaching, and is also subject to the natural phenomena of predation and competition with other wild herbivores, particularly topi and Coke's hartebeest, which the IUCN also calls 'threats'.
  • Description
    There is no data on how long hirola live in the wild but in captivity they have been known to live for 15 years.
  • Ecology, system
    Their habitats range from open grassland with light bush to wooded savannahs with low shrubs and scattered trees, most often on sandy soils.
  • Child Taxon Of: Bovidae, Taxonomy
    Authorities agree that the hirola belongs in the subfamily Alcelaphinae within the family Bovidae but there has been debate about the genus in which it should be placed.
View the Source
Artiodactyla (Wikipedia)
In Group: Even-Toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), Inner systematics
Quote, In Group: Even-Toed Ungulates (Artiodactyla), Inner systematics
The bovids (Bovidae) are the most species-rich family.
View the Source
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