Common eland

Common eland
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Bovinae
Genus:	Taurotragus
Species:	T. oryx
Binomial name
Taurotragus oryx (Pallas, 1766)
Subspecies
T. o. livingstonii T. o. oryx T. o. pattersonianus
Common eland range
Synonyms
Species synonymy[2] Tragelaphus oryx (Pallas, 1766) Taurotragus alces (Oken, 1816) Taurotragus canna (C. H. Smith, 1827) Taurotragus barbatus (Kerr, 1792) Taurotragus oreas (Pallas, 1777) Taurotragus typicus Selous, 1899 Taurotragus livingstonei (P. L. Sclater, 1864) Taurotragus billingae Kershaw, 1923 Taurotragus kaufmanni (Matschie, 1912) Taurotragus niediecki (Matschie, 1913) Taurotragus selousi Lydekker, 1910 Taurotragus triangularis (Günther, 1889) Taurotragus pattersonianus Lydekker, 1906

The common eland (Taurotragus oryx), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a large-sized savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. An adult male is around 1.6 m (5.2 ft) tall at the shoulder (females are 20 cm (7.9 in) shorter) and can weigh up to 942 kg (2,077 lb) with a typical range of 500–600 kg (1,100–1,300 lb), 340–445 kg (750–981 lb) for females).

It is the second-largest antelope in the world, being slightly smaller on average than the giant eland.^[3] It was scientifically described by Peter Simon Pallas in 1766.

Mainly a herbivore, its diet is primarily grasses and leaves. Common elands form herds of up to 500 animals, but are not territorial. The common eland prefers habitats with a wide variety of flowering plants such as savannah, woodlands, and open and montane grasslands; it avoids dense forests. It uses loud barks, visual and postural movements, and the flehmen response to communicate and warn others of danger. The common eland is used by humans for leather, and meat and has been domesticated in southern Africa. Eland milk contains more butterfat than cow's milk, and can keep longer without pasteurising.^{[citation needed]}

It is native to Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, but is no longer present in Burundi. While the common eland's population is decreasing, it is classified as of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.