Oreotragus saltatrixoides (Temminck, 1853)

Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 444-779 : 737

277.

Ethiopian Klipspringer

Oreotragus saltatrixoides

French: Oréotrague d'Ethiopie / German: Athiopien-Klippspringer / Spanish: Saltarrocas de Etiopia

Taxonomy. Calotragus saltatrixoides Temminck, 1853 ,

Abyssinia.

Formerly considered a subspecies of O. oreotragus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Ethiopia, S to Lake Turkana and E to Harar.

Descriptive notes. No specific measurements available. Both sexes are fairly small; skull length is 13.5-14. 2 cm and horn length is 7.2-10 cm. General color of the Ethiopian Klipspringer is golden, more deeply colored on neck; it is well speckled, but speckling less extensive on rump. Teeth are relatively small.

Habitat. The Ethiopian Klipspringer may live up to 3300 m above sea level, where temperatures fall to freezing at night.

Food and Feeding. They are concentrate selectors,like all klipspringers, and basically browsers, because shrubs are much more common than grasses in their habitat.

Breeding. The Ethiopian Klipspringeris a seasonal breeder, and the degree of seasonality varies according to local conditions.

Activity patterns. Males spend 16-18% of the day feeding during the wet season and only 6-10% during the dry season, whereas females feed for 26-31% of the day during the wet season, 12-24% in the dry season. Males are much more vigilant, standing like statues for up to half an hour. On one occasion, a male stood for nearly four hours without moving, except for occasionally turning his head. A pair are usually only 2 m apart. The female is usually the first to begin moving; the male stays close to her, but actual contact between them is rare, usually just an approach and a sniff of the face and rump, or rubbing the muzzles together. They make alarm calls in duet. A comparison in the Simien Mountains, Ethiopia, between those living on the escarpment and those living on the sides of the gorge found differences in activity patterns. Those in the gorge began moving and feeding an hour earlier in the morning, when the sun reached them. The escarpment wasstill in deep shadow at this time, and here they remained in shelter, out of the wind, until the sun reached them. Toward midday, those in the gorge began to go behind the rocks and bushes out of the sun, whereas those on the escarpment remained active until late afternoon. In all, those in the gorge spent more time resting, less time feeding than those on the escarpment.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. A population of the Ethiopian Klipspringer at Sankaber in the Ethiopian Highlands had a mean territory size of 8-1 ha (7-5-9-4 ha). In the Simien Mountains, the population density is 4:67 ind/km?®. They occasionally live singly, but are seen in mated pairs most of the time. Up to 80% of groups are mated pairs, but 10-20% of the groups are of one male and two females. The second female is probably the young of the previous year, but occasionally these second females do breed. About 50% of the pairs are accompanied by young of the year. Male offspring disperse earlier than female. A territory contains dung piles up to 3 m in diameter, 10 cm high, usually on flat ground 10-100 m apart, with smaller piles between. Urination and defecation are not ritualized, although defecation is done in a distinctive crouch. Twigs are often marked with the preorbital secretion, including after defecation; the secretion is thick and tarry. Most marking is done by the male, who often overmarks the female’s marks. Intruding males are chased by the territorial male, and there may be a fight, with slow approaches followed by head butting and occasional wounding.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (under O. oreotragus ). Oreotragus taxa, except the Nigerian Klipspringer (O. o. porteoust), are not considered separately by IUCN.

Bibliography. Estes (1991), Groves & Grubb (2011), Kingdon (1982), Roosevelt & Heller (1914).

Figures

269. Cape Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus), 270. Transvaal Klipspringer (Oreotragus transvaalensis), 271. Stevenson’s Klipspringer (Oreotragus stevensoni), 272. Angolan Klipspringer (Oreotragus tyler), 273. Zambian Klipspringer (Oreotragus centralis), 274. Noack’s Klipspringer (Oreotragus aceratos), 275. Masai Klipspringer (Oreotragus schillingsi), 276. Golden Klipspringer (Oreotragus aureus), 277. Ethiopian Klipspringer (Oreotragus saltatrixoides), 278. Somali Klipspringer (Oreotragus somalicus), 279. Nigerian Klipspringer (Oreotragus porteousi)

Distribution. Ethiopia , S to Lake Turkana and E to Harar.