By Titus Too
Have you ever seen an antelope that lives in water? Chances are you have not and you are not alone.
One of the worldâs most rare aquatic antelopes, Sitatunga, only emerge out of water late in the evening and early morning to graze at riverbanks.
Spotting them is rare. Visitors to either the Kingwal swamp in Nandi or Saiwa dam in Trans Nzoia often keep long vigil to catch a glimpse of the beautiful.
The Sitatunga are only found at Saiwa and Kingwal swamps.
So peculiar are the characteristics of the antelopes that the Kenya Wildlife Service ( KWS) stepped in to protect their population and their habitats, which have been turned into tourism destinations.
A lifeless Sitatunga at Kingwal swamp. Photos: Peter Ochieng/Standard
But lately, the Sitatunga has come under threat of extinction posed by dogs, poachers, degradation of their habitats by farmers and a disease that is fast decimating its population.
Although they are herbivorous, their hooves are long and distinct from those of its mammalian class.
This enables them to wade through water in search of food and protect itself as well.
Different sizes
Standing at about one and a half metre long, brown with white bellies and long horns, the Sitatunga at Kingwal, in Nandi, are relatively bigger in size and are more compared to those at Saiwa swamp in Trans Nzoia.
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