Waterbuck

The rump names a waterbuck from behind at a glance and also tells the two forms apart. The defassa waterbuck has broad white patches on either side of the rump, while the common waterbuck has a clean white ring circling a dark rump. Both occur in East Africa and often interbreed where their ranges meet, so an in-between pattern is possible. The coat is shaggy and brown-gray and gives off an oily, smelly secretion thought to help with waterproofing. Only males carry horns, widely spaced, heavily ringed and curving back and up to as much as 40 inches. Waterbuck depend on water more than cattle do and stay near rivers, gallery forest and riverine woodland south of the Sahara, so a drive along a watercourse is the best place to find them.