Tsessebe

The Common Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus), is a savannah and floodplain antelope found in northern Botswana, eastern Angola, northeastern Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and parts of South Africa. It is extirpated in Mozambique. Formerly it was included in a species along with the Topi and the Bangweulu Tsessebe, which are today both considered to represent distinct species.

Tsessebe stand over a metre tall at the shoulder and weigh 85 to 165 kilograms. Their coats are a rusty red colour with black legs, chest and a black strip running from forehead to the tip of the nose. The horns are lyre-shaped and are conspicuously ringed and can reach 70 centimetres in both sexes. The horns of older animals tend to wear down, and this can be used as a means of assessing the age of individuals in the field.