Hartebeest

Hartebeest have one of the oddest silhouettes on the savanna, and shape is the way to know them. The head is extremely long and narrow, with the eyes set high, and the strongly ridged horns, found in both sexes, rise from a tall bony base on top of the skull. The back slopes down from high shoulders to low hindquarters and ends in a black-tasseled tail. Coat color varies widely between the regional forms, from light tan through bright rufous to deep maroon, but that long face and sloping back stay the same, so trust the outline over the color. Expect hartebeest in open grassland and bush across sub-Saharan Africa.