This is a research done by UHIFADHI SOCIETY (Faith and Rachel) about SITATUNGA, a rare swamp-dwelling antelope. It is distinguished by its long, splayed hooves. These hooves make them clumsy and vulnerable on firm terrain but well-adapted for walking through muddy, vegetated swamplands. Their shaggy, oily coat is another adaptation to an aquatic habitat.
Diet
Sitatungas eat what is convenient.
These antelopes eat bulrushes, sedges, and the leaves of bushes in the swamps as well as grass in adjacent riverine forests. They will also eat fallen fruit and chew the bark of some trees and bushes.
Behaviors
The sitatunga is a swamp creature.
Sitatungas use regular, tunneled pathways through tall reeds and papyrus. As a swamp provides a year-round supply of rich food, they have exceptionally small home ranges.
Challenges
Hunting is causing a decline in sitatunga populations.
These antelopes are easily caught by setting snares in their well-traveled paths in swamps. Because of this, overhunting outside protected areas is causing a rapid decline in their numbers.
Their habitats are being destroyed.
People are draining the swamps sitatungas love to live in.