Fragmentary populations through southern Central Africa, including northern Botswana, northern Angola, Zambia, Tanzania, and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo (Stuart, 1997; Nowak, 1995).

Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )

Kobus vardonii is an antelope very similar in appearance to Kob (Kobus kob) and Lechwe (Kobus leche). The lack of markings on the back distinguishes it from these. The shoulder height is approximately 80 cm with a body length between 1.5 - 1.7 m. The back and legs are uniformly brown, while the side and tail are more yellowish. The underside of the body and neck are off-white, as well as the hair immediately around the eyes and mouth.

The male grows relatively short (~45 cm) horns. These are lyre-shaped and ridged deeply

(Stuart, 1997).

Range mass: 62 to 74 kg.

Range length: 1.5 to 1.7 m.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry

• Terrestrial
• Freshwater

Found mainly in moist savannah and floodplains containing rivers or marshes (Stuart, 1997). Some might be found in adjacent areas of light woodland (Nowak, 1995).

Nearly exclusively eats grasses (Stuart, 1997).

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )

Known Predators:

• African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus)
• hyenas (Hyaeninae)
• leopards (Panthera pardus)
• lions (Panthera leo)

Males control a piece of land and the females come into that territory to mate. Male traits, territorial forage quality and predation risk are all significant predictors for a female's choice of mate (Balmford, Rosser, and Albon, 1992).

Mating System: polygynous

The majority of the young are born during the rainy season from January through April, but they may be born at any time of year (Stuart, 1997). After a gestation of about 240 days a single young is born. Those young born during the wet season take advantage of the thick vegetation to hide from predators. After its first few weeks it comes out of hiding and joins the herd, grouping with other juveniles (Rosser, 1989).

Range number of offspring: 1 (low) .

Average number of offspring: 1.

Range gestation period: 8 to 9 months.

Parental Investment: altricial ; female parental care

The population numbers are greatly reduced in some areas, notably in Angola, Botswana, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Only about 150 individuals remain in Botswana--all concentrated in the Chobe National Park. In contrast, the number occurring in Tanzania is a robust 40,000. The Zambian population is even greater (Stuart, 1997).

The entire population was wiped out of Malawi in the 1930s. In 1984 there was apparently a successful reintroduction of the species back into the will (Bell and Nsanjama, 1985).

A study in Kasanka National Park in Zambia found that male Kobus vardoni were especially vulnerable to poaching. There were large areas of unoccupied suitable habitat. After five years of anti-poaching control the number of individual puku increased two fold. This provides hope for the regeneration of the species in areas where its numbers have been depleted (Goldspink, Holland, Sweet, and Stjernstedt, 1998).

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: near threatened

Positive Impacts: food