Puku

What Is the Puku?

The puku (Kobus vardonii) is a medium-sized antelope of the wet grasslands and floodplains of south-central Africa. It belongs to the genus Kobus - the same group as the kob, the lechwes and the waterbuck - and to the tribe Reduncini, the "reedbucks and waterbuck" lineage. The name was established by David Livingstone in 1857, and the puku remains one of the lesser-known members of this wetland clan.

With its warm golden coat and sturdy build, the puku is easy to confuse with the southern reedbuck or the impala at a distance, but up close its heavier neck, lack of leg markings and the male's stout lyre horns set it apart. In Tanzania it is a strictly southern species, confined to the floodplain grasslands of the Kilombero Valley and the Lake Rukwa basin rather than the famous northern circuit.

Why “Puku”?

"Puku" is the animal's indigenous name across central and southern Africa and has passed unchanged into scientific and English usage. It carries no separate meaning beyond the animal itself - unlike many antelope names, it is not a description of colour or behaviour but simply what local peoples call it.

In Tanzania, where the puku's range is limited to the south, it is best known to the people of the Kilombero and Rukwa regions, and is sometimes called the "golden antelope of the wetlands" for its rich coat in the low floodplain light.

Signature Features

Three things mark the puku. First, its colour: a golden-yellow to sandy-brown coat with a browner forehead and pale markings around the eyes, under the belly, on the neck and on the upper lip. Second, its tail: long-haired towards the tip but not bushy, a useful distinction from similar antelopes. Third, the male's horns: stout, lyre-shaped and heavily ridged for two-thirds of their length, smooth only at the tips, reaching about 50 cm.

The puku's other signature is sound. Territorial males give a series of 3 to 4 clear whistles to warn rival males off and to advertise to females, and animals of any age or sex whistle as an alarm when a predator appears - one of the few African antelopes to use whistling so habitually.

Size and Body Form

Puku stand 80-90 cm at the shoulder and weigh 48-91 kg: adult males average about 77 kg (range 67-91 kg) while females average about 61 kg (range 48-78 kg). Males are noticeably larger and develop a thick, muscular neck as they mature. The body is sturdy rather than slender, built for life in tall floodplain grass, with relatively short legs for an antelope of its size.

The coat is about 3 cm long, golden-yellow over most of the body, browner on the forehead, with white fur near the eyes, under the belly, on the neck and on the upper lip. The tail ends in a tuft of longer hairs but is not bushy. These plain, unmarked legs help separate the puku from the more boldly patterned lechwe and waterbuck.

Horns & Defence

Only male puku carry horns. They are lyre-shaped - curving gently outwards and up - stout at the base and heavily ringed (ridged) for about two-thirds of their length, becoming smooth towards the tips. They reach roughly 50 cm (about 20 inches). Females are hornless and also smaller and lighter in build than the males.

Because the horns are short, thick and only vaguely lyre-shaped, a puku male can be mistaken for a young waterbuck or a reedbuck at range. The combination of golden colour, plain legs and a heavy neck is the reliable field clue.

Habitat & Range

The puku is a floodplain specialist above all. It inhabits the grasslands, shrubby margins and grassy edges along rivers and lakes across south-central Africa, favouring the damp, green floodplain pasture that flourishes on seasonally flooded ground. It shuns deep, permanent water and, when seasonal floods rise, moves to slightly higher, better-drained ground - often open woodland edge - until the waters recede. This tight link to rivers, lakes and wetlands is the puku's defining ecological trait.

The global range is centred on the wetlands of Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia, with Tanzania holding the northern edge of the species' distribution. In Tanzania this means the southern floodplain systems: the Kilombero Valley and the Lake Rukwa basin. These are not part of the northern safari circuit, and visitors hoping to see puku in Tanzania must travel south rather than to the Serengeti or Ngorongoro.

Where to See Puku in Tanzania and Beyond

Tanzania's puku are a southern specialty, living in the Kilombero Valley and around Lake Rukwa; the species is essentially absent from the northern parks. The world's largest puku numbers, however, are in Zambia, Botswana and Namibia, where the great floodplains make them abundant and easy to see.

Behavior & Social Life

Puku are gregarious but socially split by sex for much of the year. Females and their young form herds whose membership constantly changes as animals drift in and out, while mature males hold year-round territories alone and defend them against rival males. Young males gather in bachelor groups of up to 15 animals, rarely to 25, until they can establish a territory of their own.

A territorial male advertises and defends his patch through the whistling described above and by rubbing his horns in the grass to leave scent from glands on his neck. Puku are mainly diurnal and crepuscular, grazing in the cool of early morning and again in the late afternoon, and resting in the heat of the day. Their alarm whistle carries far across open floodplain and is one of the characteristic sounds of these grasslands.

Diet & Feeding

The puku is a grazer. It feeds on grasses - especially perennial floodplain grasses - and takes some forbs (low flowering plants) when available. It selects the green, nutritious growth that flourishes on seasonally flooded plains, which is why it is tied so closely to river and lakeshore grasslands rather than dry bush.

Predators & Defense

Adult puku are taken mainly by lion and leopard, the two large predators that share their floodplain and woodland-edge habitat. Calves are more vulnerable and may also fall to smaller carnivores and large birds of prey in their first weeks. The puku's response is the whistling alarm followed by flight into taller grass or towards open ground where it can outrun a pursuer.

Young & Lifespan

After a gestation of about eight months a female puku gives birth to a single calf, which she hides in tall floodplain grass for its first weeks while she grazes nearby. The calf joins the nursery herd once it is strong enough to keep up. Like other Kobus antelopes, puku breed year-round in good habitat, with males competing for territories that give them access to the roaming female herds.

Conservation Status

The puku is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List (2016), with an estimated global population of around 130,000 animals and a decreasing trend. The species is sensitive to disturbance and is now restricted to isolated pockets of suitable floodplain.

The main threats are hunting and habitat loss, particularly the conversion of shrubby floodplain to farmland and competition with livestock for grazing. In Tanzania, the Kilombero and Rukwa populations are among the species' strongholds and benefit from the relative inaccessibility of their southern range.

Safari Experience

Seeing a puku in Tanzania takes you off the beaten track. The species is absent from the Serengeti, Ngorongoro and Tarangire and instead favours the southern floodplain grasslands of the Kilombero Valley and the Lake Rukwa basin. Travellers who explore Katavi or the Selous (Nyerere) in the south stand the best chance, often combining the trip with Zambia or Botswana where puku are abundant.

Because puku graze open, low grass, they are usually easy to approach once found, and a male's whistling and sturdy lyre horns make a rewarding photographic subject. African Majestic Adventure can build a southern Tanzania itinerary around these quieter, wildlife-rich floodplains.

Puku vs Waterbuck

The puku's closest Tanzanian relative is the waterbuck, and the two are sometimes confused. The waterbuck is far larger (males up to about 250 kg versus the puku's 90 kg) with a shaggy grey-brown coat and the obvious white ring around the rump. Waterbuck stay close to permanent water; puku favour open floodplain grassland and, although tied to wetlands, range more widely across the plains.

Both are grazers and only the males carry horns, but the waterbuck's horns are long and heavily ringed in a pronounced lyre, while the puku's are shorter, stouter and only vaguely lyre-shaped. For a full picture of Tanzania's Kobus antelopes, compare the puku with the common waterbuck.

Did You Know?

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Frequently Asked Questions

References & Further Reading

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - Kobus vardonii (Puku), assessed 2016, Near Threatened.
• Ultimate Ungulate - Puku (Kobus vardonii) fact sheet: physical characteristics, distribution and conservation status.
• Animal Diversity Web (University of Michigan) - Kobus vardonii species account: range, behaviour and communication.
• Jenkins, R.K.B., Maliti, H.T. & Corti, G.R. (2003) - Conservation of the puku antelope in the Kilombero Valley, Tanzania. Biodiversity and Conservation 12: 787-797.
• Rodgers, W.A. (1984) - Status of puku (Kobus vardonii) in Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology 22: 117-126.