Damaliscus, commonly known as tsessebes, is a genus of antelope in the family Bovidae, subfamily Alcelaphinae, found in Africa.Damaliscus, commonly known as tsessebes, is a genus of antelope in the family Bovidae, subfamily Alcelaphinae, found in Africa. The below galleries are the examples of Genus Damaliscus I have seen in my travels in Africa. The following species are featured on this page:

• Western Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus)

• Blesbok or blesbuck (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi)

• Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus)

• Serengeti Topi (Damaliscus jimela)

• Uganda Topi (Damaliscus ugandae)

Damaliscus lunatus is a large African antelope of the genus Damaliscus and subfamily Alcelaphinae in the family Bovidae, with a number of recognised geographic subspecies. Some authorities have split the different populations of the species into different species, although this is seen as controversial. Common names include topi, sassaby, tiang and tsessebe.

The most significant difference between the tsessebe, the southernmost subspecies, and the other topi subspecies is the incline of the horns, with the tsessebe having horns which are placed further apart from each other as one moves distally. This has the effect of the space between them having a more lunate profile when seen from a certain angle, as opposed to lyrate, more like that of a hartebeest. Tsessebe populations show variation as one moves from South Africa to Botswana, with southerly populations having on average the lightest pelage colour, smallest size and the least robust horns. Common tsessebe do not differ significantly from the Bangweulu tsessebe, the northernmost population, but in general the populations from that part of Zambia are on average the darkest-coloured and have the most robust horns, although differences are slight and individuals in both populations show variation in these characteristics which almost completely overlap each other.

The topi has a long but patchy distribution in Southern, East and West Africa it prefers certain grasslands in arid and savanna biomes. Human hunting and habitat modification have further isolated the subpopulations. Topi are usually either numerous or absent in an area. Scattered populations do not last long and either increase or die off. The health of topis in a population depends on access to green vegetation. Herds of topi migrate between pastures. A large migration is in the Serengeti, where they join the wildebeests, zebras and gazelles.

Topi herds can take the form of "perennially sedentary-dispersion", "perennially mobile-aggregated" or something in between. This depends on the habitat and ecology of the areas they are in. Males establish territories that attract herds of females with their offspring. Depending on the size of the patches, territories can be as large as 4 km2 and sometimes border each other. In more densely populated areas, like those of Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, topis move across the plain and set up territories during resting periods.

Western Tsessebe (Damaliscus lunatus) - Okavango & Pilanesberg South Africa

The Blesbok or blesbuck (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi) is a subspecies of the bontebok antelope endemic to South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia. It has a distinctive white face and forehead which inspired the name, because bles is the Afrikaans word for a blaze such as one might see on the forehead of a horse.

The blesbok and the bontebok (D. p. pygargus) are subspecies of the same species and can readily interbreed, the hybrid offspring being known as the bontebles or baster blesbok; the differences between the two subspecies have arisen due to preferences for different habitats in the wild.

The blesbok is endemic to southern Africa and is found in large numbers in all national parks with open grasslands, from the Highveld north of the Vaal River southwards through the Free State, to the Eastern Cape. It is a plains species and dislikes wooded areas. It was first described in the 17th century, in bountiful herds.

Blesbok can be found in open veld or plains of South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia. Their preferred habitat is open grassland with water. They often occupy relatively small territories of 2.5 to 6.0 acres in size. They were once one of the most abundant antelope species of the African plains, but have become scarce since 1893 due to relentless poaching for their skins and meat. Trophy hunting has helped the Blesbok to survive and thrive in the areas where they are hunted legally.

The blesbok was hunted nearly to extinction because of its large numbers, but having been protected since the late 19th century, it has proliferated and today it is sufficiently numerous not to be classed as endangered. In modern times, this is largely because of the commercial value of the blesbok to private land owners, and also because it is one of the few medium-sized antelopes that can be contained by normal stock fencing. As of 2017, blesbok numbers have had an upward trend, and are estimated to be at least 54,000, with about 69% of these thought to be genetically pure. There are at least 17,000 in protected areas. The principal threat is thought to be hybridization with the bontebok.

Blesbok (Damaliscus phillipsi) - Mountain Zebra National Park South Africa

The Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus) is an antelope found in South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia. D. pygargus has two subspecies; the nominate subspecies (D. p. pygargus), occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld areas of the Western Cape, and the blesbok (D. p. phillipsi) occurring in the Highveld.

The bontebok is related to the common tsessebe.

The bontebok is a tall, medium-sized antelope. They typically stand 80 to 100 cm (31 to 39 in) high at the shoulder and measure 120 to 210 cm (47 to 83 in) along the head and body. The tail can range from 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in). Body mass can vary from 50 to 155 kg (110 to 342 lb). Males are slightly larger and noticeably heavier than females. The bontebok is a chocolate brown colour, with a white underside and a white stripe from the forehead to the tip of the nose, although there is a brown stripe across the white near the eyes in most blesbok. The bontebok also has a distinctive white patch around its tail (hence the Latin name), while this patch is light brown/tan in the blesbok. The horns of the bontebok are lyre-shaped and clearly ringed. They are found in both sexes and can reach a length of half a metre.

Blesbok live in the Highveld, where they eat short grasses, while bontebok are restricted to the coastal Fynbos and the Renosterveld. They are diurnal, though they rest during the heat of the day. Herds contain only males, only females, or are mixed, and do not exceed 40 animals for bontebok or 70 for blesbok.

Bontebok are not good jumpers, but they are very good at crawling under things. Mature males form territories and face down other males in displays and occasionally fight them.

Bontebok were once extensively killed as pests, and by the early 20th century were reduced to a wild population of just 17 individuals. The species was saved from certain extinction when Dutch farmer Alexander van der Bijl corralled the remaining individuals into a fence, which they were unable to jump out of. In 1931, this herd of 17 was transferred to Bontebok National Park, which was established for the explicit purpose of conservation of the species. By the time the park was relocated to better suit the needs of the bontebok in 1961, the herd had grown to 61 members. Today, their population is estimated to range from 2,500 to 3,000, all descendants of the original herd of 17 members.

While Bontebok are extinct in their natural habitat, they have increased in population to the point where they are now very abundant and avidly farmed, because they are popular quarry for hunters and are easy to sustain.

Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus) - West Cost National Park and other locations in South Africa

Damaliscus lunatus jimela is a subspecies of topi, and is usually just called a topi. It is a highly social and fast type of antelope found in the savannas, semi-deserts, and floodplains of sub-Saharan Africa.

Topi prefer pastures with green grass that is medium in height with leaf-like swards. Topis are more densely populated in areas where green plants last into the dry season, particularly near water.[21] When foraging for food, topi tend to take small bites at a fast rate.

The topi has what is possibly the most diverse social organization of the antelopes. The reproductive organization ranges between the traditional territorial system or resource defense polygyny herds to gatherings that contain short-lasting territories to lek systems. In patches of grassland surrounded by woodlands, topi live in the sedentary-dispersion mode.

The vast majority of births occur between October and December with half of them occurring in October. The fidelity of a female to a territory can last three years in the Serengeti. The females in these territories function as part of the resident male's harem. These herds tend to be closed (except when new females are accepted) and both the male and his females defend the territory.

In 1998, Rod East estimated a global population of ca. 71,000 topi for the IUCN. The conservation status of D. lunatus jimela was assessed as 'least concern' by the IUCN in 2008, based on an estimated population of ca. 93,000, with over 90% in protected areas, and a lack of evidence to show an overall decline of over 20% over three generations (20 years) that would justify 'near threatened' or 'vulnerable' status. Nonetheless they stated that they believed the population was trending downward.

In Tanzania, East estimated a total of 58,510 individuals in 1998. According to the 2014 A Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Tanzania, there were a total of 35,000-46,500 individuals in the country. Of those, there are some 27,000-38,500 in the Serengeti, an estimated 4,000-5,000 in the adjoining Moyowosi and Kigosi Game Reserves, and 1,000-2,000 in Ugalla River Game Reserve.

In Kenya there were an average total of 126,330 topi in the period 1977–1980, based on aerial survey data. East estimated a total of 11,120 individuals in 1998, although aerial counts at the time registered at least three times more. A 2011 study by Ogutu et al. of the wild animal population in and around Masai Mara National Park found that topi population size had declined by over 70% between the 1977–1979 average population and the 2007–2009 average population. A 2016 study by Ogutu et al. compiling aerial survey records for entire Kenya found an average population of 22,239 for the period 2011–2013. There was an increase of topi numbers in Narok County since the late 1970s, but this was more than offset by the drops in other counties.

In Rwanda, East estimated a that there were less than 500 individuals in 1998. An aerial census counted 560 in Akagera National Park and neighbouring Mutara Domaine de Chasse (hunting area) in 2013, an identically done census counted 805 in 2015. This was believed to be natural increase in the absence of significant numbers of predators.

In Uganda the first topi population counts in the Ishasha Flats region in the Rukungiri District, a part of Queen Elizabeth National Park, where the topi seemed to congregate, were calculated from monthly ground count samples from 1963-1967, but these were soon doubted as the methodology used caused an overestimation due to the spatial distribution of the antelopes in aggregations. Based on three ground-based counts in 1970, Jewell estimated a total of 4,000 topi in this area using a different calculation method. The mean population derived from estimations based on aerial surveys made in 1971 and 1972 was 4,932. Yoaciel counted a maximum of 5,578 in 1975, but in 1977 the numbers declined to half that, with the last count of 1978 jumping back to 2,973. At the same time, the home range of the population shrunk and kob numbers doubled. In 1981 a conservationist claimed that the Yoaciel et al. study revealed topi numbers here were 20% of their 1973 level in 1980, although that appears to be a incorrect. To explain the population reduction, Yoaciel et al. pointed to three causes: poaching pressure, lion predation and changes in the vegetation structure. Poaching had increased, especially with the establishment of a military border post in Ishasha. Lions in Ishasha had a preference for topi, in some years the topi formed over 80% of their prey, meaning the 32 adult lions roughly killed some 660 topi in those years, although lower percentages of topi prey in later years meant lions killed 320 a year. Lastly, the rangeland was changing in vegetation structure, with the tree species Acacia sieberiana encroaching upon the shrinking grassland. It was suspected either changed fire regimes and the local reduction in the elephant population due to ivory poaching was causing this afforestation. East estimated a that there were 580 individuals in 1998 in Uganda, with an unknown number in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Joint aerial surveys of the adjoining Queen Elizabeth National Park, Kigezi Game Reserve and Kyambura Game Reserve in Uganda, and Parc National des Virunga (Virunga National Park) in the DRC, which together completely encircle Lake Edward, found that all of the topi cluster to the south of the lake shore in the Ishasha Flats. The total minimum population in this region was counted as 2,874 in the 2006 survey, but dropped to 1,302 in the 2010 survey. Another joint survey in 2014 found 2,679 topi in the region, most in the Uganda part. In 2020, Uganda Wildlife Authority executive director Samuel John Mwandha stated that the wildlife in park has been increasing in the last five years.

In the adjoining Pian-Upe, Bokora and Matheniko Game Reserves, and the controlled hunting areas surrounding and connecting these areas to Kidepo Valley National Park, topi were numerous in the 1960s. A ground-based survey in April 2012 registered no sightings of topi, it is possible they have been extirpated. The Uganda Wildlife Authority was planning to relocate twenty topi to the area as of 2013.

Lake Mburo National Park also supports a topi population. Annual roadside survey count numbers have fluctuated, with a low of 57 in 1995, and a high of 362 only two years later. The 2010 survey counted 173 topi. Topi also occur in the controlled hunting areas buffering the park. A problem facing topi in the park are the changes in habitat occurring over time. Most areas which were formerly grassland in the park have changed into bushveld or forest as the invasive native shrubby tree species Acacia hockii has colonised these areas. The acacia in turn is protecting other bush and tree species, which are growing faster and thicker. This afforestation is forcing topi into the surrounding ranches and private land, causing topi to be resented as pests. Uganda has tried to organise these areas into controlled hunting areas for sport, but land owners complain the money this generates is being spent on community projects such as schools, health centres and roads rather than addressing individual challenges resulting from problem animals. The procurement of an excavator for habitat management, different wildfire regimes, translocating excess animals, fencing, wildlife ranching for the hunting industry, community tourism, licensing more sport hunting companies and increasing quotas may alleviate this; the local community is permitted to uproot acacia for firewood, but this has proved ineffective.

In 2016 the IUCN estimated a similar number as in 1998, with 50,000-70,000 mature individuals, and continued to state the population was trending downward. No mention made of the 2008 assessment, but it was stated that East had estimated 58,500 in 1998 (the assessment cites the date 1999) in Tanzania and the 2014 book had estimated it as 35,000-46,500, which represents a 25-46% decline over three generations (18 years) in the country which holds the majority of the population, thus assuming the figures for Tanzania are accurate and can be applied to other countries, and assuming East's 1998 numbers for the other countries are accurate, this could mean the world population had dropped by a mean of 36%, which would qualify this species for a 'vulnerable' status, although if the population in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda had not fallen below their 1998 estimations the species would actually qualify as 'near threatened'.

Serengeti Topi (Damaliscus jimela) - Masai Mara Kenya

Uganda Topi (Damaliscus ugandae) - QE Park Uganda