Sharpe's grysbok is a slight antelope that counts amongst the rarest of sightings on safari in the Kruger National Park.
Need Advice?Sharp's Grysbok is a species of dwarf antelope and belongs to the same family as the Steenbok. It has a light grey shaded face and a dark red-brown fur color that covers its body, with a grey overtone formed by the top layer of hair with its contrasting grey color.
Their distribution range starts around parts of Tanzania just south of the great Lake Victoria. From there, they occur through the tropical country of Mozambique, eastern parts of Zambia and Eastern Zimbabwe to the the Kruger National Park, and the eastern parts of South Africa.
They are widespread throughout the southeastern parts of Africa, north of the tropic of Capricorn, and aren't threatened currently, despite many developments in countries like Mozambique and Tanzania. They have a high population density, with an average of 3 animals on every square kilometer of land within their range. Populations of these dwarf antelope vary from region to region, but their total population exceeds 95 000 individuals, of which most are not within national parks or other protected areas.
Most small antelope need some form of cover in their habitat, whether it be medium-sized grass or denser shrub areas. They primarily use this thicker vegetation as shelter to shield their newly born and hide from predators. Grysbok favors Miombo woodland areas in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland subtropical regions, and Kruger Park woodland areas.
Sharpe's Grysboks are very territorial, like most antelope that do not form herds. They are less ritualistic in how they battle and settle disputes over territory. They go on their knees and use their sharp, pointed horns to fight. Territory sizes vary but are around 0.34 square kilometers on average when looking at their average population density of 3 individuals for every square kilometer.
We recommend the following National Parks and Private Reserves for the best chances of spotting sharpes grysbok on safari game drives and bush walks.
Like duikers, the Sharpe's Grysbok is almost solely a nocturnal wanderer and forager, spending the remainder of their day resting in the thickets. They are solitary, but pairs share territories and mark their territory together by spreading feces and urine along the edges. Their offspring live on the same piece of land until they are independent. It means getting or fighting for their territory in the case of male young or finding a mate with their territory in the case of female young.
These animals breed annually and any time during the year, although births usually peak at the start of the rainy season. Their courtship involves leg lifting, licking, and rubbing. Both males and females reach sexual maturity around 6 to 19 months, varying greatly from region to region. The gestation period is between 5.6 and 7 months, after which 1 and 2 offspring are born.
When in danger, the first reaction is to hide. Grysbok usually crouches to the ground or hides in abandoned burrows made by aardvarks or other mammals when predators are in the vicinity, only running or fleeing as a last resort. When they choose to run, they stay as close to the ground as possible and run into other areas of denser vegetation to get rid of the predator on their tail.
