AFRICAN SAVANNA HARE
In African mythology, the hare is a clever creature that gifted humanity with the village, the drum, and music. It’s very difficult to count savanna hares in the wild, mostly because it’s difficult to distinguish from the Cape hare. However, scientists are confident that savanna hares are abundant. In some areas of their range
MAMMALS
MAMMALS
TOPI ANTELOPE
Scientific name: Damaliscus lunatus jimela
Weight: 150 to 353 lb
Size: 59 to 83 in
Life span: 15 years
Habitat: Open grasslands and Wooded grasslands
Playable by: Members, and Seniors
Aggression level: Medium
Predators: African lion, Spotted hyena, Nile crocodile, African cheetah, Painted wolves, and African leopard
Predators of the young: Black-backed jackal, Martial eagle, and African rock python
Basic behavior:
- Topis are antelopes that are very picky in correlation to what they feed on. Being grazers, they prefer grassland habitats that offer a lot of fresh grass reaching knee height; if it happens to not be available, they will be content with eating dry or more mature grasses. During the wet season, topis don't need to drink; because they get all the water they need from the grasses consumed. However, during drier times they will most likely need to drink every one or two days. Topis have two peeks of feeding and general activity, mainly from morning to mid-day and between mid-afternoon until dusk; in-between those activity peeks topis travel or rest. At night Topis have two activity peeks one being at the start of night time the other being at the end.
- Topis are an exceptionally socially complex because they exhibit a lot of different behavioral patterns depending on the types of habitat a specific population inhabits, as well as the overhaul population density. In the Serengeti topis exhibit three major herding structures:
1. The first being large leaderless aggregations of topis moving from feeding spot to feeding spot all year round and staying there for relatively short periods. During the breeding season, these large aggregations gather all at one particular place where large open plains meet. Males then start to form temporary territories where females spend the most time at and form a large "arena" where the biggest and most powerful males make their territories in the center while weaker or young make theirs on the outskirts of the arena. (Topis in the server can only be in aggregations if they exceed 20 individuals in total in the herd)
2. The second social structure is characterized by a resident herd of related females and their offspring staying in a selected home range under the protection and authority of an adult male. Both the territorial male and female herds treat outsiders very aggressively and do not accept them inside their territory When an outsider is spotted in the home range the territorial male canters towards them and chasing them off. Sometimes the dominant female will perform the high stepping movement made by territorial males in order to intimidate trespassers and confuse them. (However persistent females can be taken in but it is difficult for her to be taken in). These resident herds never leave their home range, unless food or water becomes very rare and the need for those resources becomes critical. (Waterholes are neutral ground for resident topis and therefore do not fight with other topis at that location).
3. The third and last social structure observed in the topis of the Serengeti, are bachelor herds. Although males are the core of these herds, yearling females who have been kicked out of their natal home range and herd have been observed to join these bachelor herds for their first year, until reaching sexual maturity where they'll either join a migratory herd, try to join an already existing resident female herd or start their own herd in a territorial male's home range.
- Mating season for Topis happens in the middle of the wet season, the calving will take place at the start of wet season, so three months or so before the rut.
- When a predator is spotted, topis will stare directly at the predator to make sure it doesn't try to take it or it's herd by surprise, some topis will canter and trot towards the predator following it for a couple of meters so it doesn't try to hunt them again. When taken by surprise by Lions, groups of hyenas, Leopards, packs of Painted wolves, and Cheetahs, topis will run away and if they survive the chase they will again turn back and stare at the threat and follow it for a reasonable distance and period until resuming to their usual activities. These antelopes do not protect each other from threats. (Remember that if the predator fails it's a hunt you don't need to stay miles away from it, and can get close to it) Other predators such as jackals, Caracals, and servals are generally ignored or chased off if they come too close to an individual Topi that decides they are entering its personal space.
- Topis are very tolerant of other animal species, such as zebras, wildebeests, ostriches, warthogs ... etc. As long as they don't invade personal space the topi will not show signs of aggression, however, if the animal invading it is bigger than the topi, it will evidently back off.
Physical characteristics:
The topi is a medium-sized antelope with a striking reddish-brown to purplish-red coat. Distinct black patches appear on the face, the upper forelegs, and on the hips and thighs. To complete its singular appearance, the topi's yellowish-tan legs look like they are encased in stockings. Although not quite as large as its relative the hartebeest (kongoni), the topi has a similar body shape. However, it does not have such a long, narrow head, nor is it as high at the shoulder. The female topi is usually lighter in color than the male. Both sexes have thick, heavily ringed, lyre-shaped horns that are about 21 inches long. Topis have good sight and hearing and can run quite fast with a bounding gait.
COMMON TSESSEBE CONSERVATION STATUS
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LEAST CONCERN.
The population of Damaliscus lunatus was estimated to be in the tens of thousands in 1998, so it was declared at low risk of extinction. However, the IUCN Species Survival Commission observed a general population decline that would result in the population becoming vulnerable to extinction by the year 2025. Tsessebe populations once were present in much greater numbers, but populations declined due to habitat destruction, with bush encroachment playing a primary role.
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Male Roles/Reactions:
- After being pushed out by their fathers out of their natal home range, male topis will generally join a bachelor herd of topics where they will socialize and play fight with other yearling topis. Males mature only in their third year of life, leaving their bachelor herd means they will either join an aggregation or establish a territory and become a territorial male.
- When confronting other topis to chase off their territories, males canter with their heads high pursuing the individual for a few meters and grunting very loudly. If two males are to engage in taking over a territory, they will stand side to side looking in the opposite direction of one another with heads held high to initiate the fight. In bachelor herds, male topis can sometimes gather together in small pockets of 3 to 4 individuals frontally sniffing each other in order to start a sparring contest. Regular males and territorial males will also alarm snort deceptively to retain receptive females in their territories and thereby secure mating opportunities.
- Territorial males usually act as the protector of their resident herds, only having one single herd in their home range and being very close to each of their partners. Territorial males will place themselves on top of termites mounds in order to scout the area for trespassers of both genders and predators, they will even chase off jackals, lone hyenas, pairs of painted wolves, and other small predators away from the herd if they get too close or if they decide to attack one of his calves. If a territorial male loses against another male during a battle for his home range, the winner will keep it.
- When wanting to mate, a male must adopt a courtship display in order to seduce a female. To do so male topis approach the herd by cantering with the head held high and when close to the female, the male will high step near the female, afterwards, the male will smell the females and look for one which is estrus.
- When his offspring of both sexes are no longer under the protection of their mothers, territorial males exclude them from his home range and the herd.
Mixed herd species: Cattle egret, Plains Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Thomson's gazelle, and Common Eland
Interspecific competition: Coke's Hartebeest
Calls and Emotes meaning:
1. Alarm call used to signal the herd that there is a predator.
2. Rutting/territorial call used by the males when chasing another male out of its lek or during courtship
Female Roles/Reactions:
- Resident female herds are usually led by an old female and is the most dominant female in the group. During the dry season, the dominant female will not accept any outside female or male into the territory to prevent too much topis to eat or drink when resources are missing.
- Resident females like to mate with dominant males they have mated with before and as such, they will be jealous if their favorite mate breeds with other females and will try to prevent breeding by chasing off the females if the male is interested. In aggregations, females do not care with whom they mate with.
- Females will give birth at the start of the wet season or at the end of the dry season. In aggregations female topis do not seek a hiding spot to give birth and do not hide their calves, they will only do so during night time during the "Newborn stage"; resident herds, on the other hand, try to hide their calves more often for the "Newborn stage" too and even seek more wooded areas to do so. When the calf reaches the "young adult stage" its mother will no longer care for it. If her calf is attacked a female will only defend it from threats such as jackals, lone hyenas, pairs of painted wolves, pairs of cheetahs or other small predators.
Juvenile Roles/Reactions:
- The calf will stay with its mother until she gets another calf or will leave her once it reaches "Young adult stage", females generally stay in the herd if it's was born in aggregation, but both sexes are kicked out of their natal home ranges by the territorial male in charge.
- If the calf loses its mother, it won't be nursed or protected by any of the females in the herd.
WROTE BY ENDERSHADOW
