Lechwe

The lechwe is native to Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and eastern Angola, especially in the Okavango Delta, Kafue Flats, and Bangweulu Wetlands. The species is fairly common in zoos and wild animal farms.

Adult lechwe typically stand {{convert|90|to|100|cm|in|abbr=on}} at the shoulder and generally weigh from {{convert|50|to|120|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, with males being larger than females. They are golden brown with white bellies. Males are darker in colour, but exact hue and amount of blackish on the front legs, chest and body varies depending on subspecies. The long, spiral horns are vaguely lyre-shaped and borne only by males. The hind legs are somewhat longer in proportion than in other antelopes to ease long-distance running on marshy soil.

File:Red Lechwe in the Okavango.jpg|Adult red lechwes in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

File:Leaping Lechwe.jpg|alt=Female red lechwe runningOkavango Delta, Botswana|Female red lechwe,
Okavango Delta

File:Red lechwe (Kobus leche leche) juvenile.jpg|alt=Juvenile red lechweOkavango Delta, Botswana|Juvenile red lechwe,
Okavango Delta

File:Red lechwe (Kobus leche leche) males fighting, composite.jpg|alt=Males red lechwes flightingOkavango Delta, Botswana|Male red lechwes fighting,
Okavango Delta

Lechwe are found in marshy areas where they are an important herbivore of aquatic plants, as well as grasses that are found in flooded meadows.{{cite journal |last1=Franceschini |first1=M. Celeste |last2=Murphy |first2=Kevin J. |last3=Moore |first3=Isabel |last4=Kennedy |first4=Michael P. |last5=Martínez |first5=Fedra S. |last6=Willems |first6=Frank |last7=De Wysiecki |first7=M. Laura |last8=Sichingabula |first8=Henry |date=29 July 2020 |title=Impacts on freshwater macrophytes produced by small invertebrate herbivores: Afrotropical and Neotropical wetlands compared |journal=Hydrobiologia |volume=847 |issue=17 |pages=3931–3950 |doi=10.1007/s10750-020-04360-5|s2cid=220843360 |url=http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/bitstream/handle/10915/144665/Documento_completo.pdf?sequence=1 }}{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Kobus_leche/#:~:text=Lechwe%20are%20medium%2Dsized%20antelopes,Males%20darken%20with%20age | title=Kobus leche (Lechwe) | website=Animal Diversity Web }} They use the knee-deep water as protection from predators. Their legs are covered in a water-repellant substance which allows them to run quite fast in knee-deep water. Lechwe are diurnal. They gather in herds which can include many thousands of individuals.{{Cite web|title=Lechwe|url=https://urbancamp.net/backup%20of%20old%20site/contents/en-us/p22_Lechwe.html|last=Windhoek|first=UrbanCamp net {{!}} Camping {{!}} Leisure {{!}}|website=urbancamp.net|language=en-us|access-date=2020-05-30}} Herds are usually all of one sex, but during mating season they mix.{{cite journal|doi=10.1093/beheco/8.1.1|title=Lekking, resource defense, and harassment in two subspecies of lechwe antelope|journal=Behavioral Ecology|volume=8|pages=1–9|year=1997|last1=Nefdt|first1=Rory J. C.|last2=Thirgood|first2=Simon J.|doi-access=free}}

File:Kob Antelope.jpg

File:Kobus leche smithemani 44223157.jpg

Four subspecies of the lechwe have been recognized.{{MSW3|page=720|id=14200984}}{{cite book |last1=Groves |first1=C.|last2=Grubb |first2=P.|title=Ungulate Taxonomy |date=2011|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-1-4214-0093-8|pages=190–1}}

• Common red lechwe (Kobus leche leche) (Gray, 1850) - Widely distributed in the wetlands of Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia.
• Kafue Flats lechwe (Kobus leche kafuensis) (Haltenorth, 1963) - It is confined within the Kafue Flats (seasonally inundated flood-plain on the Kafue River, Zambia).
• {{Extinct}} Roberts' lechwe (Kobus leche robertsi) (Rothschild, 1907) - Formerly found in northeastern Zambia, now extinct. Also called the Kawambwa lechwe.
• Black lechwe (Kobus leche smithemani) (Lydekker, 1900) - Found in the Bangweulu region of Zambia.

In addition, the Upemba lechwe (Kobus anselli) and the extinct Cape lechwe (Kobus venterae) are also considered subspecies by some authorities (as Kobus leche anselli and Kobus leche venterae).{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group |date=2017 |title=Kobus leche ssp. anselli |volume=2017 |page=e.T136937A50198198 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T136937A50198198.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}{{cite book|last1=Brain|first1=C. K.|title=The Hunters Or the Hunted?: An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy|date=1983|publisher=American Bar Foundation|page=173}}

Although related and sharing the name "lechwe", the Nile lechwe (K. megaceros) is consistently recognized as a separate species.

Lechwe mate during rain seasons of November to February. They have a gestation period of seven to eight months so a majority of calves are born from July to September. Newell, T. 1999. "Kobus leche" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 06, 2020 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Kobus_leche/ Although rare, hybrids between lechwe and waterbuck have been observed.{{cite web |title=Antelope hybrid in the wilds of northern Botswana |url=https://africageographic.com/stories/a-wild-hybrid-antelope-in-botswana/ |website=Africa Geographic |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200807040142/https://africageographic.com/stories/a-wild-hybrid-antelope-in-botswana/ |archive-date=7 August 2020 |date=19 May 2016 |url-status=live}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Kobus leche}}

• ARKive - [https://web.archive.org/web/20060422080021/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Kobus_leche_smithemani/ images and movies of the black lechwe (Kobus leche smithemani)]

{{Artiodactyla|R.2}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q273565}}

Category:Marsh antelopes

Category:Mammals of Sub-Saharan Africa

Category:Mammals of Central Africa

Category:Mammals of Angola

Category:Mammals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Category:Mammals of Namibia

Category:Mammals of Zambia

Category:Mammals described in 1850

Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray