The RIDDLE of the ROAN

Blighted by clumsy conservation could there now be signs of hope for Africa’s second largest antelopes?

- Mark Eveleigh

Roan antelope are the most enigmatic of large antelopes and remain relatively misunderstood.” It’s the end of a long summer and Leanne Huber is gazing across the grasslands that are home to 40 roan antelope. She’s been working with these animals for more than a decade and has come to know them well.

“Because their babies are quite easily taken by predators they have a reputation of being bad parents, but it’s not true at all. When they’re defending their young they can seem intimidatingly huge!”

Leanne and her husband, wildlife veterinarian Dr Paul Huber, run the roan breeding programme at Ant’s Hill on South Africa’s Waterberg plateau.

“We also breed sable, eland and gemsbok here,” she continues, “but the roan are my favourites. They’re particularly protective during the weeks when their young are hidden in the long grass. If we even walk close to a hiding place the dominant cow will come racing over.”

Roan are the second biggest antelope (after the eland) and their barrel-chested, horse-like build does indeed give them a powerful appearance. Named for their reddish colour, roan are sometimes mistaken for the darker sable. Their Afrikaans name bastergemsbok (‘bastard gemsbok’) relates to the distinctive gemsbok-like black-and-white facial markings, but their distinctive fringed ears give them a comically startled appearance. Even these unique appendages remain an evolutionary mystery, though it is possible that they might provide protection in the Highveld habitat, where winter temperatures can plummet below freezing. “Roan are certainly prone to frostbite,” says Huber, “and when it gets really cold they can lose the tips of their ears.”