SUMMARY

The predation pressure and the relatively patchy food distribution have shaped a social system based on male territoriality and overlap promiscuity. Periodical fires that devastate the shrubland may intensify the clumped distribution of resources and make certain male territories more attractive to females than others (Leuthold 1970). Females inhabit a home range that coincides with a male territory or overlaps several of them. They seek the temporary protection of the territory holder, as well as the food he “has to offer.” The male himself is interested in attracting as many females as possible to his area in order to boost his reproductive success. Adult male gerenuks are regularly spaced out and rarely need to come in conflict. Seasonal and daily migrations are not significant because of the animal’s independence of free water and its adaptation to various plant foods which are, for the most part, readily available.

Courtesy of Imraan Nanji, http://community.webshots.com/user/imnanji