Taurotragus
| Taurotragus | |
|---|---|
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| Taurotragus oryx | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Bovinae |
| Genus: | Taurotragus (Wagner, 1855) |
| Species | |
Taurotragus, commonly called Eland, is a genus of antelopes of the African savannah, containing two species: the Common Eland and the Giant Eland. The elands are the largest African antelopes.
Males range in size from 600 to 800 kg (1300—1760 lb) and may even reach a ton on rare occasions; females range from 400 to 600 kg (880—1300 lb).
The meat of the eland contains more protein than cattle meat and less fat, and eland milk has a very high calcium level. For this reason, eland have undergone selection for meat quality and milk quantity in the Askaniya-Nova Zoological Park in Ukraine. However, domestication of the animal in Europe to take advantage of their nutritional value has thus far been unsuccessful.[1] The common eland is farmed in some parts of Africa, where it is well adapted to local conditions.
[edit] See also
- Taurotragus derbianus (Gray, 1847) -- Giant Eland
- Taurotragus oryx (Pallas, 1766) -- Common Eland
[edit] Notes
- ^ Diamond, Guns, Germs and Steel (1997), pp. 167
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