Bubal Hartebeest
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| Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Extinct (1923)
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| Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus |
The Bubal Hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus) is an antelope that became extinct in 1923.
The name Hartebeest is an Afrikaans word which means tough beast. The Bubal Hartebeest stood at around 122 cm (4ft) at the shoulder. It also had lyre-shaped horns. The Bubal Hartebeest is believed to have once lived in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. It may also have resided in the Middle East. The Hartebeest was once domesticated by Egyptians and may have been used a sacrificial animal. Its horns in tombs at Abadiyeh indicated its importance as a food source and in mythology. It is even mentioned in the Old Testament under the name Yachmur (1 Kings 4:23)[1]. Starting in the 1900s the Bubal Hartebeest could only be found in Algeria and the Moroccan High Atlas. French people who resided in Morocco had shot these animals for fun, and for hunting, which kill large herds of them out. Many Hartebeests were captured and were kept alive (e.g. in the London Zoo from 1883 to 1907[2]), but they eventually died out. In 1923, a Bubal Hartebeest female that died in a Paris Zoo is believed to have been that last one remaining.
The Dutch name for the Bubal Hartebeest is Noord-Afrikaans Hartenbeest.
[edit] References
- ^ John Edwards (1996) - London Zoo from Old Photographs 1852 - 1914
- ^ John Edwards (1996) - London Zoo from Old Photographs 1852 - 1914
