Hirola
The hirola (Beatragus hunteri), also called the Hunter's hartebeest or Hunter's antelope, is a critically endangered antelope species found as of now, only in Kenya along the border of Somalia. It was first described by the big game hunter and zoologist H.C.V. Hunter in 1888. It is the only living member of the genus Beatragus, though other species are known from the fossil record. The global hirola population is estimated at 300–500 animals and there are none in captivity. According to a document produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature "the loss of the hirola would be the first extinction of a mammalian genus on mainland Africa in modern human history".
Hirola | |
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Illustration by Philip Sclater in 1894 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Alcelaphinae |
Genus: | Beatragus |
Species: | B. hunteri |
Binomial name | |
Beatragus hunteri (Sclater, 1889) | |
Range of the hirola | |
Synonyms | |
Cobus hunteri Sclater, 1889 |
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