Areena is home to a few Nyala
Posted on: October 8, 2018, in Adventure & Fun, News
Areena is home to a few Nyala, and you may have seen them grazing grasses, leaves, twigs, fruits and flowers in our game reserve.
The male Nyala has a dark grey head and body with white stripes along its torso. The lower legs are tan in colour, the Nyala has a fringe of hair along their underside and and thin crest along their back. They have a white v between their eyes and horns that can measure up to 70 cm’s. The Female and juveniles, are more red/brown and have vertical stripes along their bodies. They don’t have any horns but they do sport the white v between their eyes as their male counterpart.
The females prefer to live in groups of 2 – 30 individuals, the young females like to stay close to their mothers even once they are independent. The males form more loose groups. The Nyala breed throughout the year, with a gestation period of 7 months, with one calf born. The new baby weighs in at around 5kg and remain well hidden for up to 18 days. The mothers wean their calf around 7 months although the calf will stay with the mother until her next calf is born. Nyala are sexually mature by 18 months.
Next time you visit Areena, try and spot the Nyala families that call Areena home. With thanks from an Areena resident who captured these wonderful pictures of our male Nyala.