Today, on Endangered Species Day, we feature another African mammal that isn’t indigenous to South Africa.

Kobus vardonii

The Puku is a medium-sized antelope, with rams standing about 90cm tall at the shoulder and weighing around 75kg. The ewes are considerably smaller. They’re particularly picky about their habitat, always having to be within easy reach of water and preferring the limited areas of grassland wedged between rivers or marshes and the surrounding woodland on higher ground. Pukus are almost exclusively grazing animals and they’re most active at dawn and dusk.

Puku ewes and their lambs live in rather unstable herds numbering up to 50, though usually much smaller, passing through the territories of mature rams which try to keep the herd in his area so he may mate with any receptive females. Rams that aren’t able to compete for territory come together in bachelor herds. Ewes give birth to a single lamb at any time of year, with a peak during the drier months, after an 8 month gestation.

Given a clearly declining and fragmented population the IUCN considers the Puku to be near threatened. The population on the Chobe river floodplain, confined to Botswana’s Chobe National Park, likely numbers less than 200. It was therefore a real thrill for me to see wild Puku on a visit there in 2024, during which these pictures were taken. They’re also found in pockets of Angola, Zambia, the DRC, Malawi and Tanzania.

Puku

Puku

Puku

Puku

Puku

Puku

Puku

Puku

Puku