You will encounter the slight little oribi in the safaris areas of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. They occur in Kruger Park though rarely encountered. Phinda Private Reserve and Mkuze offer good sightings.
Need Advice?Oribis are members of the dwarf antelope species. They have long, lean necks, spiky, slightly curved horns, and lengthy, slender ears. Ginger-red fur covers their bodies. Their bellies and the back of their legs are bright white.
They have no large area of continuous habitat. Their range starts along the coast of the Eastern Cape Province, through to KwaZulu-Natal to Mozambique. In Mozambique, they occur in the southern and central parts. Oribis inhabit parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Their status is 'of least concern' when talking about the threat of endangerment and their conservation status, even though one of its sub-species, previously found in western Africa, is extinct. Other sub-species, such as Ourebia Ourebi haggardi, are classified as vulnerable and less numerous than those found in the southern part of Africa. Twenty years ago, their population was around 750 000 in total. This number has since declined, but with no recent census data.
Oribis are some of the only small antelope that primarily graze, avoiding areas dominated by shrubs, bushes, trees, and higher-density areas. Grasslands, open woodland areas, and particularly floodplains are where they flourish. They prefer eating short grass, mainly due to their size and stature, and thus find the presence of large herbivores like buffalo, zebras, and hippos to work to their advantage.
They are very territorial and form lifelong mating pairs. Unlike the Steenbok or Grysbok, the oribi may form pairs in which males have more than one female breeding partner rather than only simple monogamous pairs. Usually, there are one or two females for every male. They live on the same territory, which varies in size in different habitats. When they mark their territory, the male starts smelling the female, who then deposits her feces. The male then uses his scent glands to leave his scent before vigorously stamping on the female's excrement and leaving his urine and dung there on top of her deposits.
We recommend the following National Parks and Private Reserves for the best chances of spotting the oribi on safari game drives and bush walks.
Oribis have six glands that produce smells used to mark their territories but are also frequently used to communicate different things, although which scents convey which message is unclear. They vocalize but only as a 3rd choice when ranking modes of communication after visual displays and scents. Oribis rarely make physical contact besides mating, although family members touch noses as a greeting. Males spend a surprising amount of time on border patrol and marking their territory, roughly 16 times an hour, by secretion from one of their glands. Furthermore, they have been found to spend approximately 27% of their day grazing.
Their courtship involves many of the same rituals as other dwarf antelope. Oribis engage in genital licking and the very odd lifting of a front leg by males between the two hind legs of females. When a female does not want to mate, she usually runs away and lies down somewhere. During copulation, the female assumes the same position as when urinating. After the female oribi has conceived, she will carry their calf for up to 7 months before giving birth.
When under threat, the first reaction is to hide within denser bush or grass areas in their habitat, ears down and their bodies as still as possible. If spotted, they sprint for dear life, with females usually running in front at a high of 50km/h through the open plain. After 200m or so, they might look back to see if they are still being chased and might run in a zig-zag motion to confuse predators.
