Oreotragus stevensoni Roberts 1946
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Bovidae
Oreotragus
Oreotragus stevensoni

description: 271.
Stevenson’s Klipspringer
Oreotragus stevensoni
French: Oréotrague de Stevenson / German: Simbabwe-Klippspringer / Spanish: Saltarrocas de Stevenson
Taxonomy. Oreotragus stevenson: Roberts, 1946,
Matopo Hills, S of Bulawayo, WS Rhodesia.
Formerly considered a subspecies of O. oreotragus. Monotypic.
Distribution. The dry country of W Zimbabwe and N & E Botswana.
Descriptive notes. Total length 82-92 cm (males) and 88:3-100 cm (females), tail 6:5-10. 3 cm (both sexes), shoulder height 49-52 cm (males) and 50-53. 5 cm (females), ear 8:-5-10 cm, hindfoot 21.5-24 cm; weight 9-11-11. 6 kg (males) and 5-15. 9 kg (females). Stevenson’s Klipspringer is one of the smallest species; the sexes are apparently much the same size or the female is slightly larger. Skull length (both sexes) is 134-14 cm. Like the Transvaal Klipspringer (O. transvaalensis), this species has particularly long horns: length 8:8-11. 5 cm. The color is much duller than the Transvaal Klipspringer, being strongly grizzled, with black on the dorsum but not on the flanks, and the head is much darker, but it is similar to the Transvaal Klipspringer in that the underparts are extensively white.
Habitat. As in other species of klipspringer, rocky areas including mountainous regions, rocky hills, kopjes, and gorges are preferred habitats.
Food and Feeding. Stevenson's Klipspringer eats leaves, new shoots, berries, fruits, seed pods, flowers of woody plants, forbs, and some new grass. Generally all the moisture they need is obtained from their food. Diet is much the same as the Zambian Klipspringer (O. centralis), with perhaps more fruits and berries.
Breeding. The male follows the female closely, with “laufschlag,” and blocks her movement, standing with arched neck; she may bite him, and they circle tightly before mating. Gestation is five months. Birth occurs in dense vegetation or among rocks; the infants lie quietly for 2-3 months, and walk unsteadily. Weaning occurs at 4-5 months.
Activity patterns. Stevenson's Klipspringers are very vigilant, and react to the alarm calls of other species. They give alarm whistles or flee silently, usually to a higher vantage point, where they begin continuous trumpeting alarm calls, made through the nose—the females’ calls coming just after the males’.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. A population of Stevenson’s Klipspringers at Matobo Hills had a mean territory size of only 5-5 ha. They may leave their territories to forage. There may be more than one female in the territory. In Botswana, a long-established territory had dung piles up to 90 cm diameter and 10 cm high.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (under O. oreotragus). Oreotragus taxa, except the Nigerian Klipspringer (O. o. porteousi), are not considered separately by [UCN.
Bibliography. Estes (1991), Groves & Grubb (2011), Roberts (1996), Skinner & Chimimba (2005).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2011, Bovidae, pp. 444-779 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 2 Hoofed Mammals, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 735, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6512484