Afterwards they return to their female group and give birth to mostly a single young after a pregnancy of a little more than nine months. In contrast to many other ungulate species the newborn Waterbuck doesn't follow its mother right from the beginning. It lies inconspicuously in the long grass apart from its mother and is visited by her to have the chance to suckle. The young joins its mother and her female group when about one month old. At the age of nine months the young Waterbucks leave the groups of their mothers.
Young females join other female groups and young males form bachelor groups.
Not until a buck has reached an age of six years it is endeavoured to establish a territory. It takes a few more years until a buck is able to conquer one of the attractive territories. By far not all adult males hold a territory at the same time. It is estimated that just seven percent of the adult males are territorial within a certain area at a certain time.