Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 8, 2022

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Hartebeest

The hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) is a large African antelope. Standing just over 1 m (3.3 ft) at the shoulder, it has a typical head-and-body length of 200 to 250 cm (80 to 90 in) and weighs 100 to 200 kg (220 to 440 lb). Coat colour varies among the eight subspecies, from the sandy brown of the western hartebeest to the chocolate brown of Swayne's hartebeest. Both sexes have an elongated forehead, back-curving horns, a short neck, pointed ears, and unusually long legs. Herds typically have up to 300 individuals, grazing mainly on grasses in dry savannas and wooded grasslands, and often moving to more arid places after rainfall. The hartebeest was formerly widespread in Africa, but populations have undergone drastic decline due to habitat destruction, hunting, human settlement, and competition with livestock for food. The species is extinct in Algeria, Egypt, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, and Tunisia, but has been reintroduced into Eswatini and Zimbabwe. (Full article...)

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