Common eland (Taurotragus oryx)
The name ‘eland’ is Dutch for "elk" or "moose". I didn’t know that.!!
Common elands are spiral-horned antelopes. Females weigh 300–600 kg (660–1,300 lb.), measure 200–280 cm (79–110 in) from the snout to the base of the tail and stand 125–153 cm (49–60 in) at the shoulder. Bulls weigh 400–942 kg (880–2,080 lb.), are 240–345 cm (94–136 in) from the snout to the base of the tail and stand 150–183 cm (59–72 in) at the shoulder. The tail is 50–90 cm (20–35 in) long. Male elands can weigh up to 1,000 kg (2,200 lb.)….
Males have dense fur on their foreheads and a large dewlap on their throats.
The common eland is just so slow, with a top speed of 40 kilometres (25 mi) per hour that tires them out quickly. However, they maintain a 22 kilometres (14 mi) per hour trot indefinitely. Elands are capable of jumping up to 2.5 metres (8 ft. 2 in) from a standing start when startled (up to 3 metres (9.8 ft.) for young elands). So don’t startle them…
I had a little fun with the photos I took recently of this antelope… enjoy (he was so close I could get some real close-ups…
Here he is noticing the food closer to me….
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 
These are beautiful photos. What a massive beautiful animal!
Fascinating information and great closeups, Bulldog! The horns are gorgeous. As are your photographs (of course! 🙂
Thank you .. such a nice comment
I love the close ups. They are beautiful.
Thank you..
I liked the closeup of his mouth. You really were close! I hadn’t heard of an Eland before. There’s nothing too common about him, even if Eland simply means antelope. And his spiral horns are really beautiful. This guy looked nice and relaxed. 🙂
Thank you.. he was surprisingly calm for what is usually a skittish animal… must have been hungry….
I like the cropping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks.. had fun with this one… not often one gets that close..
I’m so jealous!
Magnificent horns.
Thanks Genie
Would love to see these beautiful animals up close, but since I can’t, thanks for the next best thing, Rob.
Thanks Gina… one cannot really visualise just how big these animals are without something to refer them against…
Great closeups! Love the one showing one eye! Are these common?
They are not an endangered specie and yes fairly common in the areas they live…
I envision them being commonly hunted for mounting.
Lovely shots, but it is difficult to give a photographic impression of their sheer size. That comes across really forcefully when one unexpectedly (upwind) comes upon a herd of them!
That is so true… without some other animal near them against which one can judge, they don’t show their true size…
I didn’t know that either – knew all meant the same but didn’t realise the word came from the Dutch. Great close up shots.
Thank you… never too old to learn ..all of that is…
I didn’t know the name ‘eland’ is Dutch for “elk” or “moose” either, Bulldog. I’m always learning here 😀 I love the curled horns – what a magnificent creature 😉
This came as a great surprise to me too…
Another fab post, pics & info are really great! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you Amanda…
Fabulous close-ups, bulldog. What a lovely face he has, and I really like that smile. Amazing facts about their agility. I wouldn’t call 40kms per hour, really slow. 🙂
Thanks AD.. yep 40 is not slow… but slow if being chased by a lion…
Close-ups indeed! Wow!
Thanks Russ… not that lucky everyday…
Well they are certainly not common here! Beautiful! Lovely shots, as always! Happy Weekend ♥
Thanks … I would be surprised if you had as many as these as you do oil wells…
🙂
I love the close up of the smiling face – that one needs a caption! Their horns are so pretty – are they ever victim to poachers for their horns? Or are there not enough of them around for there to be a trade in them?
Their horns have no value to anyone except the trophy hunter… they are shot for their meat every year on hunting farms… but one does pay a premium price… nearly R12 000 for a bull…
great shots. I love all the antelope, even these massive ones. They have such gentle faces. Thank you 🙂
They do come over as gentle giants… yet seem normally so shy and skittish… so this was a real luck…
& very nice looking luck as well!
Massive animals. I’m surprised they can jump so well. Fabulous photos.
That surprises all of us.. yet I’ve seen them jump an 8ft fence from standing when we went to chase them out of the vegetable lands… unbelievable…
Love these! In that one close up picture, it looks like he’s laughing!
I was trying to get him chewing away on the feed that had been put out… got some fairly good shots but can’t post them all…
I love the shots you did put up!
Wow! those close ups are brilliant, Bulldog 🙂
thank you…
Was this in the wild? – you got so close. We have deer that pass through our woods and venture into our field in spring and fall but always just does – never a buck. Great shots Bulldog.
Yes this was in a reserve where they had put out a bit of supplementary feed for the Rhino and this guy strolled up to within 2 m of me and fed… made my photo shoot a pleasure…
It’s hard to imagine it can jump more than eight feet, especially from a standing start. Great you could get so close to get your photos.
Thanks Brian.. I quietly sat at a supplementary feeding point and this guy joined the Rhino and came and fed right in front of me… about 2 metres away…
More than eight feet is some jump, especially from a standing start. It must have very powerful legs or springs built in. Great you could get so close to get your photos.
Nice close ups. I’m wondering if they get picked off by the big cats if they don’t run that fast.
They are not so prolific where there are a lot of predators, but yes they do fall prey to the lion now and then…
That would explain why they’re not so prolific where lions are.
I only saw one of these in South Africa and we were so far away. Thanks for sharing the photos so I can see one “up close.”
My pleasure…
I didn’t know that either bulldog! So, now we can also say we have “elk” or “moose” here in South Africa! Now that is great! 😀
Great shots of another beautiful animal my friend! Those horns are magnificent! Love seeing your gorgeous photo’s. Thanks so much for sharing and have a lovely Friday and weekend! 😀 *big hugs*
Thanks Sonel… I enjoyed this shoot up close… got to see a bit of this shy animal I’ve always had to see from far…
Beautiful shots!!!
thank you..
They are beautiful, I loved your compositions with them, the colours are so beautiful too. Thank you dear Rob, have a nice Friday and weekend, love, nia
Thanks Nia…