Gerenuk in the wild in Ethiopia🦌

Photo: David Castor · CC0

SpeciesArtiodactylaBovidae
Mammals

🦌Gerenuk

Litocranius walleri (Brooke, 1879)

The gerenuk, also known as the giraffe gazelle, is a long-necked, medium-sized antelope found in parts of East Africa. The sole member of the genus Litocranius, the gerenuk was first described by the naturalist Victor Brooke in 1879. It is characterised by its long, slender neck and limbs. The antelope is 80–105 centimetres tall, and weighs between 18 and 52 kilograms. Two types of colouration are clearly visible on the smooth coat: the reddish brown back or the "saddle", and the lighter flanks, fawn to buff. The horns, present only on males, are lyre-shaped. Curving backward then slightly forward, these measure 25–44 cm.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
27
Photos
6
Measurements
12
vs you
≈ half your weight
Also called
Southern Gerenuk
Conservation status
NTNear threatened

IUCN Red List assessment, 2016.

Population trendDecreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
41 kg
Body length
1.55 m
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
17 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Gerenuk

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
41 kg
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 44 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length
1.55 m
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Brain mass
155 g
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Maximum lifespan
17 years
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 17 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length
7 years
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Age at maturity
2.3 years
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Gestation
204 days
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 204 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter size
1
COMBINE
Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

  • 1AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic level
Herbivore
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Activity cycle
Crepuscular / mixed
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Population density
0.05 per km²
COMBINE
Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
41 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Gerenuk yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

More

More about the Gerenuk

Closest relative on this site
🐃 Springbok — last shared an ancestor ≈ 6.0 million years ago.
What it eats
leaves, roots and other plants100%
In other languages
Giraffengazelle (de), Gazelle de Waller (fr), gerenuk długoszyi (pl), צבי ג'ירפי (he), 게레눅 (ko), Litocranius walleri (es) … and 24 more languages

Animals caught on camera

Real footage of the animals on this site — hunting, fighting, and getting on with it.

See all 27 videos →
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