Grey Rhebuck

They have stable populations in protected areas. Thanks to this, they are not currently threatened. The mountainous regions in which they reside are also usually outside the harmful reach of human communities, which may over-hunt the local population. The estimated total number of grey rhebok individuals is 18 000. However, only 9800 were confirmed because of the remote nature of their inhabited areas. Some of their most robust populations inhabit parks within the northern and Southern Drakensberg Mountains; roughly 3000 individuals in UKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park alone.

They prefer grassland and scrub savanna areas, which frequently occur on the high mountains and slopes they inhabit in the Drakensberg Mountains. They graze and browse, and move from nutritious pastures on higher hills and slopes during the rainy season in September – March, to lower grassland slopes in the dry season when higher slopes lose their sustenance and become barren during the winter from April – August. Grey rhebok are water-independent, which means they consume enough moisture from browsing and do not need a stable source of drinking water to survive.

These antelope organize themselves into herds of roughly five to ten members. Herds consist of 1 adult male, with the rest females and their young. Grey rhebok are territorial animals - females and their young will usually stay within one male’s territory and then exclusively mate with that male. Habitats change seasonally and range from 25 to 100 ha (0,25 – 1 square kilometer). These antelope don’t form bachelor groups; juvenile males remain with the group until they can gain territory.

Their open environment or habitat has made them very dependent on sight. They can spot stationary objects from over 200m away and can spot fellow Grey Rhebok from almost 400m away. They make a grunting noise when attacked or threatened. Males frequently patrol their territory, leaving their scent in the form of feces and urine. They have an acute sense of smell and can follow other individuals of the species simply by keeping track of their scent. A male chase away other males when they approach his territory, and the pair could engage in battles in which they use their horns, like most other antelope.

Breeding is seasonal, between January and April, to ensure calves are born when lots of nutritious food is abundantly available during November, December, and January. They have very odd mating rituals, where they lick each other, and the male lifts his foreleg between the female’s two hind legs before copulation. Females carry young for seven months. The rhebok is probably the only African antelope species to have been recorded, giving birth to 2 offspring at a time, although this is still very rare.

There are no large predators in their habitats. The animals that hunt are caracals, jackals, and baboons. Calves are also easy prey for large predatory birds. When threatened, they snort, stamp, and raise their posture to appear more prominent but inevitably run away. Their average flight distance is between 150 and 200m. Even when threatened, herds of grey rhebok prefer not to wander outside their territory and avoid it as much as possible. During an attack, the male sometimes goes on the offense to protect his herd.