The red hartebeest may not look that exciting, but it is superbly adapted to living in arid conditions and is found in the drier western areas of southern Africa. Its coat is dense and short, and reflects light and heat away from its body. It has a narrow muzzle that allows the animal to pick and choose the best grass stems from amongst a whole clump, as well as helping it to browse during the winter months when its usual diet of grass is scarce. Unfortunately, the numbers of this amazing animal have declined drastically throughout the region.
Reasons given include habitat destruction and hunting.
The red hartebeest has a characteristic build with a sloping back, high humped shoulders and an elongated head. The coat varies from a reddish-brown to tawny colour. There is a darker saddle stretching from the shoulders to the rump. The hindlegs are black from halfway down the thighs to the knees and dark patches stretch from the shoulder to the forelegs. The sides of the neck and face tend to be lighter than the top of the face with a patch of brown across the face in front and between the eyes.