Antelope From the African Swamp

[swamp thang 16]

Thought you fellas might appreicate a few pictures of the species that are hunted here. Don't do much shooting myself these days, seeing as the habitat hs shrunk so much that these species are all pretty much endangered here. Anyways, here goes.

 

This is about my best closeup of a bushbuck in the wild, as she grazed on the edge of my catfish pond at dawn.

 

 

Next is a group shot of my captive herd of bushbuck. I will get around to taking a closeup at feeding time one of these days.

 

 

Now this is the King of the Swamp, the Sitatunga swamp antelope, which is as elusive and hard to hunt as any beast out there. This fella is entirely nocturnal, and is very much at home in the swamp where it can submerge like a croc if chased, and simply vanish. He did a dance in front of my trail cam, and clearly winded my scent there, since their sense of smell is second to none.

 

 

Finally another bush buck male, on an early morning outing.

 

 

Hope you hunters like my shots, and I'll post more later as the guests show up.

[Tyla 3,179]

Very nice. Whereabouts are you?

[marko 30]

great pics them mate, any more put them up.

[chris87 297]

good pics cheers for sharing

Edited December 26, 2012 by chris87

[J Darcy 5,871]

Top class.....

[Richie10 345]

Nice animals.

[swamp thang 16]

Thought I'd add this picture that shows a bit of the swamp forest. The raised embankment on which this fawn stands was built by the dozer digging fish ponds years ago, and is now plastered with antelope tracks, and tore up with horn scrapes. The camera that I set here ten feet up a palm tree is by far the most productive trail-cam I have out there.This is the same spot where the Sitatunga emerges from the swamp, but in the dead of night only.Here

 

Here again is the same Sitatunga using his horns to apply his stamp of authority, to show who's in charge in this area.

 

Edited December 26, 2012 by swamp thang

[The one 8,397]

very nice seeing something different mate

[j j m 6,481]

Top pics mate

[swamp thang 16]

Thought I'd add this shot to show that the stripes don't fade on adult bush-bucks. Here a doe and fawn take a stroll.

 

[D Lloyd 2,790]

stunning thanks for posting them mate :thumbs:

[skycat 6,172]

Beautiful animals. I'm interested in how the 'swamp forest' actually works: obviously it's not all knee deep in water, but the deer seem to appreciate the artificial higher ground that has been created, but before the bank was made, what other dry land did they use? Presumably they've adapted to living in very wet places partly for protection from predators.

Also, are they endangered purely due to shrinking habitat? Are they protected at all? And if not, why not?

[swamp thang 16]

The forest runs in a narrow ribbon along the banks of a stream, Skycat, and it is there that these animals find refuge from year- round unrestricted hunting pressure. The bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) is actually a grassland species, but this small group have adapted to skirting the edges of the swamp behind my catfish ponds, where the hunters and their dogs don't go due to difficult terrain.

 

The far more rare and stealthy Sitatunga ( Tragelpahus spekei gratus), shown in my earlier night pictures, is a slightly larger cousin of the bushbuck, and is a purely swamp-dwelling antelope, with elongated hooves for walking in soft mud. Sitatungas are expert swimmers, but often they silently submerge in the murk when they get spooked, vanishing without a foot-fall.

 

I'll see if I can find a good picture to post here of my tame Sitatunga juvenile buck in a pen out back , whom I have trained to trot over to claim rewards of favourite leaves. The captive-raised Sitatunga, sold to me as a fawn by a trapper, is a fair bit younger and smaller than the one in the above pictures, but he is way bigger than a mature bushbuck already, at a little over 18 months old now.

[skycat 6,172]

Thanks for that info: so it is, as usual, entirely due to humans that they are endangered: nothing changes!

 

Muntjac, which are of course not a native species to the UK, have adapted very well over here, to the extent that they are considered a pest in some areas: fascinating little deer:

[swamp thang 16]

Ok I managed to get a couple of shots of my captive Sitatunga, named Swampy by my eight-year old. He is about half grown now, comparing his horns to those of the one I caught on film by the river-side.

 

Very nervous animal this one, even though he will walk up to people he knows. We had to suspend re-roofing a shed nearby, because he went haywire with the carpenters noise, and wouldn't eat for a week.

 

Here he is snacking on his favourite treat - Moringa olifera leaves.

 

 

Here is another shot. I was about to crouch down to get a petter perspective, but his hackles went up, and he moved in for a head-butting joust, which I would have lost for sure, so I stood back up and took this slightly blurred picture.

 

Edited December 28, 2012 by swamp thang