Kobus vardonii(Artiodactyla: Bovidae)

Abstract

Kobus vardonii (Livingstone, 1857) is a bovid commonly known as the puku. It is a medium-sized antelope with a golden-yellow coat and white underparts, sexually dimorphic as only males carry lyre-shaped horns, and according to current taxonomy it is one of 12 extant species in the genus Kobus. Adult males defend territories, whereas females and young move around in unstable groups. Feeding on a great variety of grasses, K. vardonii occurs in grasslands along rivers and lakes in southern central Africa with Zambia being the center of its distribution and Tanzania holding the largest population. It is classified as “Near Threatened” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.