Scientific Classification

KINGDOM: Animalia

PHYLUM: Chordata

CLASS: Mammalia

ORDER: Artiodactyla

FAMILY: Bovidae

GENUS: Tragelaphus

SPECIES: T. spekii

Conservation Status

brown male Sitatunga
Forest sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii gratus)
Female East African Sitatunga called Tragelaphus spekii spekii
Hippo family eating while a sitatunga is passing by

Male sitatungas are about twice as large as females, growing to about five feet tall and weighing up to 260 pounds. Males also have a mane on their neck and back, and long, twisted horns that can reach 35 inches in length!

The sitatunga is well-adapted to living in the swamps and marshes. Besides being great swimmers, their long coat is covered in an oil to repel water and their coloration gives them camouflage. Most notable is their specialized hooves, which are splayed and elongated to allow easy, quiet motion through the water. However, this causes sitatungas to walk awkwardly on land.

A sitatunga’s coat varies by location but it is usually a shade of red with white markings on their face and spots or stripes down their body. The male sitatungas will darken as they age and get a longer, scarggily mane.
Sitatungas can be found in swamps, marshes, and forests throughout Africa, less so on the Western side. They have small ranges near bodies of water that usually have dense vegetation. It is easy to locate sitatungas as they move along clearly marked trails that lead to reed beds, water, or other common places.
Sitatungas are mainly active just after dawn and then again right before dusk, resting for most of the day. Finding food is never a challenge for sitatungas since the swamp provides plenty of it, causing them to have small home ranges. They eat a variety of plants but are still classified as selective eaters since they prefer to eat fresher greens and herbs, or whatever is in season. In fact, one study recorded 40 major plant species that were eaten by a single sitatunga!
Sitatungas mate year-round. The males may have multiple mates but will stay with a female for a few days after mating to ensure no other male will approach the female. The males will also compete with other males for the right to mate, which is where their horns come into play. After eight months, the female will give birth to one calf, where the calf will be well-hidden constantly unless other sitatungas are around. After six months, the calf will go to live independently.

During the day, sitatungas will rest on mounds of dry earth they make themselves by trampling the vegetation down into a flat bed. Excellent pin-point hearing is the sitatungas best warning for predators as their sight provides little value since swamps are so dark and dense. If predators start closing in on a sitatunga, they will run into part of the water with a lot of vegetation with only their nostrils and eyes exposed.