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Eland - Taurotragus oryxThe largest antelope in Africa, eland live in mixed herds, although like buffalo, the males may wander off to form all male herds. Males grow to be much larger than the females. Despite their large size they are agile creatures and good jumpers. They can clear each other's backs from a standing start and can leap a good three metres off the ground. Eland rub their foreheads in mud as part of the bull's courtship display. The bulls have a patch of glandular skin underneath the dark curly hair on the forehead from which a sweet smelling secretion oozes. In the presence of a female on heat, a bull will rub his forehead and horns in the mud, where the female had urinated, often getting his forehead caked with smelly mud that he rubs off again when he horns the ground and bushes as part of the mating show. Both sexes have a dewlap which is a large flap of skin on the chest and which in males continues to grow throughout their lives to eventually reach to below their knees in old age. The purpose of the dewlap is unclear but it may well be to assist cooling by increasing the surface area of the skin. In the dry regions of Botswana eland can produce more meat than cattle, particularly under drought conditions. A number of farmers have introduced eland to their farms or changed completely from cattle to eland farming. |
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