Buck up

Moving up the antelope size ranks, here are a couple of handsome bucks, both females despite their names.

I rather warm to the charming Bushbuck, Tragelaphus scripts meneleki. Males are up to 30″ at the shoulder, and up to 80Kg in weight. They are largely nocturnal, frequenting the forest edges and browsing on bushes, leaves and twigs. They are shy and hard to see; this one was emerging from safe cover in late afternoon to feed. The thick coat keeps them cosy up here at 4000 meters (13,000 feet) in the Bale mountains.

Good looking though she is, like most bushbucks she is largely solitary.  Females are bright chestnut, males are almost black. The white markings are very variable geographically, as shown in this illustration from the excellent The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals, by Johnathan Kingdon.

Just nearby, this Bohor Reedbuck, Redunca redunca, posed in a clearing.

Males can be 35″ at the shoulder and weigh 65Kg.