Bushbuck Facts
Bushbuck Facts
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| Interesting Bushbuck Facts: |
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| Bushbuck is a large antelope. It can reach 90 to 180 pounds in weight and 25 to 35 inches of height at the shoulder. |
| Body of bushbuck is covered with fur whose color depends on the habitat. It can be yellow, reddish or brown. Bushbucks that live in dense forest have darker fur. |
| Ears, chin, tail, legs and neck are covered with white, geometrically-shaped markings. |
| Only male bushbucks have horns. They are usually 10 to 20 inches long with a single twist at the bottom. Horns are sharp and can be used against predators. |
| Main predators of bushbucks are lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, hunting dogs and crocodiles. |
| Bushbuck is a solitary and shy creature. It is usually active during the night (nocturnal), but it can be also active during the day. |
| Bushbuck is a typical herbivore (plant-eater). It grazes grass during the most part of the day. Other than grass, bushbuck consumes fallen fruits, tubers, tree bark, flowers, leguminous herbs and shrubs. |
| Bushbuck absorbs majority of required water from the food. Fresh dew on the leaves is another source of moisture that fulfills need for water. |
| Unlike other antelopes, bushbuck does not tolerate birds that remove insects from its fur. As a consequence, bushbucks are filled with ticks. Besides diseases transmitted by insects, bushbuck is prone to the viral disease called rinderpest. |
| Bushbuck is not territorial animal. It requires small home range that often overlaps with a home range of other bushbucks. |
| When frightened, bushbuck can freeze or lay to the ground and wait for the danger to pass. Sometimes, it can produce series of hoarse barks. |
| Bushbuck is not very fast runner, but it is a good swimmer and it is able to jump 6 feet in the air. |
| Bushbuck mates throughout the whole year. Pregnancy in females lasts 6 months and ends with one baby. Female can have 2 litters each year. |
| After baby is born, female eats placenta and dung of young bushbuck to remove all smells that will otherwise attract predators. Baby remains hidden in the vegetation when mother is foraging. When it reaches the age of 4 months, baby accompanies its mother in the search for food. |
| Bushbuck can survive up to 12 years in the wild and up to 15 years in captivity. |
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