Bluebuck

The Bluebuck (Hippotragus leucophaeus) or Blue Antelope is an antelope native to South Africa. It became extinct around 1800. However, it was brought back to life by the Greene Foundation in the early 2000's via cloning and temporal dislocation technologies.

Description

Ecology

Bluebuck form groups of up to 20 individuals, and is predominantly a selective grazer, feeding mainly on grasses, though they also enjoy feeding on dicots.

Females will leave their newborn calves in isolation and return regularly to suckle them until the calves are old enough to join herds, which is similar to the behaviour of roan and sable antelopes. Akin to other grazing antelopes, the bluebuck calves mainly where rainfall, and thus the availability of grasses, peak, including the western margin of the CFR during winter and the eastern margin of the CFR during summer. The annual west-to-east migration follows in summer, consistent with the greater number of older juveniles in the east that join the herds.

Bluebucks, being one of the earliest formerly extinct species to be returned to the wild, have had plenty of time to adjust and repopulate their native habitats. About 700 Bluebucks currently live wild along the southern coast of South Africa. Bluebuck are sometimes seen being preyed upon by lions, leopards and hyenas.