Swayne's hartebeest

{{Short description|Subspecies of African grassland antelope}}

{{subspeciesbox

| name = Swayne's hartebeest

| image = Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei).jpg

| image_caption = Senkelle Swayne's Hartebeest Sanctuary, Ethiopia

| status = EN

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group |date=2017 |title=Alcelaphus buselaphus ssp. swaynei |volume=2017 |page=e.T809A3145291 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T809A3145291.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}

| status2 = E

| status2_system = ESA

| status2_ref = {{cite web | title = Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) | url = https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId=2874 | work = ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System | publisher = U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service }}

| genus = Alcelaphus

| species = buselaphus

| species_link = Hartebeest

| subspecies = swaynei

| authority = (Sclater, 1892)

| range_map = Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei.png

| range_map_caption = Range of the Swayne Hartebeest (in red)

}}

Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) is an endangered antelope native to Ethiopia. Two of the largest remaining populations are located in Senkelle Swayne's Hartebeest Sanctuary, Nechisar National Park and Maze National Park.{{cite book | vauthors = Abebe YD | chapter = A Glimpse at Biodiversity Hotspots of Ethiopia | title = Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society | date = 2010 |url= http://ewnhs.org.et/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/03/Biodiversity-Hotspots-of-Ethiopia.pdf|publisher=Ethiopian Wildlife & Natural History Society |page=77 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416083947/http://ewnhs.org.et/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/03/Biodiversity-Hotspots-of-Ethiopia.pdf|archive-date=2012-04-16}} It has been extirpated from Somalia. It is named after British officer H. G. C. Swayne (1860–1940).{{cite book | vauthors = Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M |title=The eponym dictionary of mammals |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I-kSmWLc6vYC&pg=PA401 |access-date=22 March 2013 |year=2009 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore, MD |isbn=9780801893049 |page=401}}

When it comes to their population status, during the times before the early 1890s the Swayne's hartebeest was very common throughout Ethiopia and Somalia. The population then declined due to an epidemic during the mid-1890s which brought about an extremely high mortality rate for wildlife and livestock which were labeled as "in danger of extermination".{{Cite journal |last1=Datiko |first1=Demeke |last2=Bekele |first2=Afework |date=2011-05-05 |title=Population status and human impact on the endangered Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Nechisar Plains, Nechisar National Park, Ethiopia |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2028.2011.01266.x |journal=African Journal of Ecology |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=311–319 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2028.2011.01266.x |bibcode=2011AfJEc..49..311D |issn=0141-6707|url-access=subscription }}

Swayne's hartebeest exhibits ecological differences from other subspecies of hartebeests in that tend to inhabit grassland habitats during the wet and dry seasons. They tend to select short grass areas of no more than 30 centimeters for feeding and have a preference for burned grassland patches. The preference for burned grassland patches has become relevant in the development of effective conservation strategies for the subspecies.{{cite journal | vauthors = Tamrat M, Atickem A, Tsegaye D, Evangelista P, Bekele A, Stenseth NC | title = The effect of season and post-fire on habitat preferences of the endangered Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) in Maze National Park, Ethiopia | journal = BMC Ecology | volume = 20 | issue = 1 | pages = 5 | date = January 2020 | pmid = 31992270 | pmc = 6986001 | doi = 10.1186/s12898-020-0275-3 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2020BMCE...20....5T }}

File:Swayne's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus swaynei) herd.jpg