The roan antelope favors the woodland savannas of the wilderness areas in northern South Africa. Safaris in Namibia's Caprivi region and the Chobe National Park in Botswana offer the best opportunities to view roan.
Need Advice?The Roan antelope, with its long, curled back horns, distinctive black, and white face, and noticeably long ears, is one of Africa's largest antelope species.
Roans occur in the northern part of South Africa towards Zimbabwe and the north of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. They inhabit parts of the Kruger National Park. Visitors can view them on game dives in other select national parks and private game reserves.
According to studies done for the UICN red list, the Roan Antelope is of 'least concern' for endangerment and extinction. Due to expanding settlements in East Africa, the species has been eradicated from Gambia, and poaching and habitat loss are still decreasing its population annually. The total population of these antelope is at 40 000 individuals but declining. Strongholds in Southern Africa, such as in the Kruger National Park, have greatly helped to prevent the species' disappearance in these areas and have also helped to establish stable populations. In contrast, the number of Roans in other countries has declined.
Roans inhabit many tropical and subtropical areas with scattered trees, small shrubs, and longer rather than short grass. They occur in the Kruger National Park's woodland, grassland, and savanna areas. Roan prefers feeding on the newly grown tops of the medium-height grass that makes up most of the vegetation in these areas. The park's center near Satara and Orpen rest camps, with its extensive open plains of grassland, offers the greatest chance of a Roan sighting.
These shaggy-looking antelope, like the sable and its other family members, form 3 main types of herds: maternal herds that consist of females and their young, and bachelor groups formed by only males or a mixture, where there is usually a dominant male among females. The maternal herds have a matriarch that leads them. Males may be solitary, living on their own for most of the year rather than with fellow bulls, but may attempt to take control of a herd from a dominant male.
We recommend the following National Parks and Private Reserves for the best chances of spotting the roan on safari game drives and bush walks.
Roan antelope are shy and not frequently seen on game drives or walks by humans, despite their healthy population. They are at their peak in social behavior early in the day when the sun has just risen, and they can graze in peace. They are picky eaters and prefer not eating a variety of vegetation but rather sticking to their usual diet of medium-sized grass. They are not very territorial but can be aggressive when their young are threatened or when two bulls dispute dominance.
Unlike seasonal breeding antelope such as sables or impala, these antelope breeds just about any time of the year from the time they reach sexual maturity. Mating occurs between a dominant male in a herd and the females in that herd, although males may battle it out for mates and supremacy. They conceal their young in the luscious tall grass they feed on for a few weeks after birth to protect them from predators.
Roans are relatively slow animals but do not suffer that much when predator attacks and kills. It may be due to their size and their aggressive and effective self-defense behavior. Lions are the only predators regularly hunting Roan populations, although crocodiles and spotted Hyenas occasionally try. They snort and rapidly adjust their posture to ready themselves for a flight when a predator approaches. Roans and predatory animals such as Lions don't coincide as often as other antelope species.
