Giant eland

Giant eland

The giant eland is the largest species of antelope, with a body length ranging from 220–290 cm. It is native to Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan. It was first introduced to England between 1835 and 1851 by Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby.

About Giant eland in brief

Summary Giant elandThe giant eland is the largest species of antelope, with a body length ranging from 220–290 cm. It is native to Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan. Giant elands are sometimes considered part of the genus Tragelaphus on the basis of molecular phylogenetics, but are usually categorized as Taurotragus, along with the common eland. They are naturally alert and wary, which makes them difficult to approach and observe. They can run at up to 70 kmh and use this speed as a defence against predators. The males are 400 to 1,000kg and females weigh 300 to 600kg. The subspecies have been listed with different conservation statuses by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The name ‘eland’ is Dutch for’moose’ or ‘elk’ and comes from a Baltic source similar to the Lithuanian élnis, which means ‘deer’ It was borrowed earlier as ellan in the 1610s or elend. The Latin name indicates that it \”belonged to\” Derby, hence derbianus. The epithet ‘giant’ actually refers to its large horns, and refers to the tuft of hair that grows in the eland’s ear which resembles a goat’s beard. It was first introduced to England between 1835 and 1851 by Edward Smith-Stanley, 13th Earl of Derby.

The first elands introduced in England were a pair of common elands, and what would later be identified as a giant elands bull. Despite its spiral-ed spiral name, this species is broadly overlaps in size with theCommon eland and is somewhat larger on average than the average. The average male is typically between 220 and 290 cm in head-and-body length and averages 90cm in weight. Males exhibit sexual dimorphism, as males are larger than females, and females as larger than males. The giant e Land is thus the largest antelope in the world, and thus the most common antelope. It can also be found in the Jos wildlife park in Nigeria, Guinea-Bissau, and Uganda due to over hunting and a lack of professional wildlife management. There are two subspecies: T.d.  derbianus and T. d.  gigas, both of which have been recognized: T. d. der Bianus and D. Gigas. The Giant eland was first described in 1847 by John Edward Gray, a British zoologist, who called it Boselaphus derbianUS. At that time, it was also called the ‘black-necked eland’ and Gingi-ganga. The species is also called ‘Lord Derby’s eland’ in honour of Edward Smith Stanley,. It is no longer present in The Gambia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo.