Hartebeests

Hartebeestes graze in herds and are commonly seen with wildebeestes, gazelles, and zebras. The home ranges of hartebeest can be from 800 to 1,400 acres (234 to 567 hectares). Within this area a number of different relationships exist. Small groups within the home range may occupy only the few acres that a male can defend. The female groups roam over many of the male-dominated smaller territories. Young hartebeests remain with A small herd of hartebeests in Kenya. JLM Visuals. Reproduced by permission.
their mothers, who may have several offspring of different ages following her. Males leave around the age of two and a half years old and join bachelor herds.

Females are sexually mature at two years of age. Pregnancy lasts about eight months and hartebeests give birth to one offspring at a time. Newborns lie out in the grass for about two weeks, then join the maternal herd. Mothers will defend young males from threatening older males that claim the territory.

Hartebeest males mark their territories with dung piles. They will also advertise their territorial claim by standing on mounds within the territory and marking grass with their preorbital glands, which are located in front of their eyes. They also have scent glands on their front hooves.

Hartebeests may settle territorial differences by fighting or by ritualized behavior. This may include defecation, pawing the ground, and scratching and cleaning their heads and necks. Fighting can include something that looks like neck wrestling. One of the difficulties hartebeests encounter in maintaining control of their territories is their need for water. If one leaves to drink, on his return he may find that another bull has claimed his territory.