Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx) Plagued With Ticks
The common eland (Taurotragus oryx), also known as the southern eland or eland antelope, is a savannah and plains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. It is the second largest antelope in the world, being slightly smaller on average than the giant eland. Eland are gregarious animals usually occurring in small herds, and are as at home in arid semi-desert scrub associations as they are in montane grass- land. Historically they were present virtually throughout South Africa, but overexploitation reduced their numbers. Common elands are resistant to trypanosomiasis, a protozoan infection that has the tsetse fly as a vector, but not to the Rhipicephalus-transmitted disease theileriosis. The disease-causing bacteria Theileria taurotragi has caused many eland deaths. The bacteria flourish in the nostril and skull cavities causing the Eland to stand with head pointing downwards for much of the time as a means of obtaining some relief.
Size: 4171px × 3337px
Location: Kariega, South Africa
Photo credit: © John Porter LRPS / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa, antelope, bush, common, east, eland, grassland, male, mammal, oryx, pair, savanna, south, southern, taurotragus, veldt, wild
