Red Hartebeest

The red hartebeest, also called the Cape hartebeest or Caama, is a subspecies of the hartebeest found in Southern Africa. More than 130,000 individuals live in the wild. The red hartebeest is closely related to the tsessebe and the topi. There are few predators hunting red hartebeest in Africa. Lions, leopards, hyenas, and cheetahs will attack them, but the red hartebeest makes up only a small portion of these predator's diets. Only lions prey on the adult animals, the other predators will kill young calves. These large antelopes feed almost entirely on grass and are not very selective and quite tolerant of poor-quality food. They have suffered from the expansion of cattle raising, forcing them to compete for the same food. When alarmed, hartebeests flee, reaching a maximum speed of 55 km/h.

Scientific name: Alcelaphus buselaphus caama

Rank: Subspecies

Higher classification: Hartebeest

Family: Bovidae

Kingdom: Animalia

Distribution:

The red hartebeest is primarily found in southwestern Africa. Southern Africa's dissected topography, geologic diversity, climate oscillations, and mosaic of distinct vegetation types has been the primary means for radiation and diversification amidst hartebeest species, which has led red hartebeests to vary slightly in their capacity to consume the diets they do. Most ungulates in Africa are nomadic, as they are dependent on food sources that become depleted if they stay in one place. A. buselaphus lives in herds in open plains and scrublands in the sub-Saharan African climate.