Hirola
Encyclopedia
The Hirola is an antelope
Antelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...

 species found in arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...

 grassy plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...

s in a pocket on the border between Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...

 and Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

. It's the only member
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

 of the genus Beatragus.

Hirola are known as the "four-eyed antelope," due to their large preorbital glands. Hirola stand 100 to 125 centimetres at the shoulder and weigh 80 to 118 kilograms. Their coat is a sandy brown colour, greyer in males than females, with a lighter underbelly and a small white strip over the bridge of the nose. The nape of the neck has very thick skin which forms ridges when the ears are pricked up. The horns
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...

 are lyre
Lyre
The lyre is a stringed musical instrument known for its use in Greek classical antiquity and later. The word comes from the Greek "λύρα" and the earliest reference to the word is the Mycenaean Greek ru-ra-ta-e, meaning "lyrists", written in Linear B syllabic script...

 shaped and very conspicuously ringed.

They are diurnal
Diurnal animal
Diurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...

 and spend the mornings and evenings grazing
Grazing
Grazing generally describes a type of feeding, in which a herbivore feeds on plants , and also on other multicellular autotrophs...

. Herds contain from two to forty females led by one territorial male but bachelor herds of five or so males are common. Herds do not move much as the males leading them are very territorial. When fighting, males drop onto their knees, but when wrestling, they remain on all fours.

Hirola are critically endangered. There are between 500 and 1200 animals in the wild and none currently in captivity
Captivity (animal)
Animals that live under human care are in captivity. Captivity can be used as a generalizing term to describe the keeping of either domesticated animals or wild animals. This may include for example farms, private homes and zoos...

. Counts in the 1970s found around 14,000 animals and another count in the 1980s found 7000 animals. The Hirola's decline is believed to have been brought on by competition with cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 as well as the drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...

 which has plagued the region.

In late 2005, four local communities in the Ijara District
Ijara District
Ijara is an administrative district in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. On May 20, 2000, it was carved out from another and larger Garissa District. It covers an area of 11’332 km² and, according to the population census of 1999, has a population of 62,571...

 have, in collaboration with Terra Nuova
Terra Nuova
Terra Nuova is an international non-governmental organization. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Italy, It focuses on promoting equitable and sustainable socio-economic development in various African and Latin America countries, including Mali, Kenya, Peru and Nicaragua...

, developed and put forward a proposal to formally establish the Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy
Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy
The Ishaqbini Hirola Conservancy is a community-based conservation area located in the Ijara District in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. The conservancy covers approximately 72 km2...

 for the in situ protection of the Hirola.

In January 2010, Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT), Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy (IHCC), was funded by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service and USAID-Kenya, to conduct a survey to estimate the remaining population of this species in its natural range. The survey was undertaken by three 2-seater and one 4-seater aircraft, counting teams, ground crews and GIS experts. The survey found only three areas with significant numbers of Hirola. After 8 days of searching, only 245 Hirola were counted from the air. While this is likely to be a slight undercount (this was verified by comparing ground and aerial counts in Ishaqbini) it is believed that there aren’t any other large herds or significant concentrations of Hirola remaining in their natural range.

Conservation

The Hirola was identified as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2007 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered
EDGE Species
Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species represent a disproportionate amount of unique evolutionary history. They have few close relatives and are often extremely unusual in the way they look, live and behave...

(EDGE) project.

External links

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