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Sharpe's Grysbok

Raphicerus sharpei
LC · Least concern Artiodactyla Bovidae
Sharpe's Grysbok (Raphicerus sharpei)
Photo: © Mark Bolnik, some rights reserved (CC BY)
Activity
Nocturnal
Sociability
Solitary

Description

The tropical cousin of the Cape Grysbok, Sharpe's Grysbok is spread across a much larger swathe of Africa from the south of the continent to eastern Ethiopia. Despite being smaller and less well known, it occupies a geographic range several times wider than its South African relative.

How to identify it

A small antelope, slightly smaller than the Cape Grysbok, with a reddish coat flecked with white similar to that of its southern relative. It is distinguished from it mainly by geographical distribution, as both species rarely overlap in the same territory.

Signs and tracks

Small, sharp tracks and territorial marking latrines; like its close relative, it shares the habit of raising the hair on its rump when threatened.

Habitat and range

Scrub and dense savanna in tropical and south-eastern Africa, from Zambia and Tanzania to South Africa, with historical records from the Ethiopian Highlands.

Diet

Browser of shrubby and herbaceous vegetation.

Behaviour

Solitary, active mainly at night and at dusk and dawn.

Conservation

Widespread species in tropical and southern Africa, with no evidence of an overall decline.

Threats

Loss of dense scrub habitat due to agricultural expansion in parts of its range.

Other accounts in Bovidae

See all species accounts for even-toed ungulates · Full species index

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