Eland Africa

Common Eland - Taurotragus oryx

The Common Eland (Taurotragus oryx) or Southern Eland is a savannah plains antelope found in Southeastern Africa.

Common Eland live on the savannah plains and eat grass, leaves and branches. The Eland are diurnal but are inactivite during the heat of the day. Eland herds are usually between thirty and eighty antelope but have been seen as large as four hundred Eland.

The name "eland" is derived form the Dutch word for elk (the mammal called "moose" in North America). When Dutch settlers came to the Cape Province they named the largest wild ruminant herbivore (Eland) they met with the name of the huge north american herbivore. In Dutch the animal is called "eland antilope" to distinguish it from the North American elk.

These Eland are on display at the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, Louisiana.