Observations on a Population of Bohor Reedbuck, Redunca redunca (Pallas 1767)

Abstract

From 1967 to 1969 the age and sex composition of Bohor Reedbuck groups encountered randomly in the Serengeti region had been recorded. In September and October 1972 the composition of the complete population in an area of about 2,5 km2 and the behaviour of the animals relevant to their social and spatial organization was recorded. 1. Of the 41 animals representing a density of 16 animals/km2, 56% were female female, 49% adult, 29% subadult and 22% immature animals. 2. Adult female female lived on their own -- together with their immature offspring, at most one fawn of either sex and one female of up to subadult age, the previous fawn -- inoverlapping home ranges of 15 to 40 ha. The subadult female female started to develop a home range in parts different from that of their mothers. 3. The ranges of 1 to 5 mature (subadult + adult) female female were defended by the same adult buck, their common ranges thus becoming a territorial area of 25 to 60 ha. The animals of one such area sometimes moved together for some hours, rarely days. 4. The territorial buck defended the territorial area only if female female were near. 5. The home ranges of female female who were defended by different bucks overlapped but much less than those of the female female of the same buck. 6. The territorial bucks chased male fawns off before they reached maturity (before the tips of their spike-like horns started to bend forward). The female fawns stayed in the territorial area. 7. 56% of the adult male male were territorial (26% of all male male), no subadult male was territorial. 8. Immature, subadult and the nonterritorial adult male male lived between the territorial areas in bachelor areas, in one case 6 bucks on 48 ha. Although the bachelor bucks did not defend their range its boundary line was set by the neighbouring territorial areas. The social and spatial organization of the Bohor Reedbuck is compared with that of the Southern Reedbuck (Jungius 1970, 1971). The social and spatial organization of the 3 Redunca species is compared with that of the other Reduncinae species.