Nyala

Description:

A Southern African, spiral-horned antelope. The male stands up to 110 cm (3.5 feet), the female is up to 90 cm (3 feet) tall. The male has loosely spiraled horns and a long fringe on throat and underparts; the female has no horns and no noticeable fringe. The male is dark brown, white on the face and neck, with vertical white stripes on the body. The female is reddish brown with white vertical striping.

Habitat:

Dense-forest antelope that is uncomfortable in open spaces and is most often seen at water holes. Nyalas live alone or in small family groups of up to 10 individuals.

Notes:

The rare Mountain Nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni) is limited to central Ethiopia. While superficially similar to the lowland Nyala, it is now considered more closely related to the kudu. The name "Nyala" is the Swahili name for this antelope, which itself comes from the Zulu "Inyala". The Latin name comes from "tragos" (he-goat), "elaphos" (deer), and George French Angas of South Australia. I visited NYC in July this year. Spent an entire day at the Bronx Zoo, where I must say, the animals were happier than I've ever seen (for zoo animals), and for good reason- the enclosures were spectacular and well-maintained.