A wetland antelope adapted to life among swamp vegetation.
Its long hooves spread widely, helping it walk on soft marshy ground. Males have twisted horns.
Sitatunga feed on grasses and other wetland plants. In the Mayanja River wetland in central Uganda, researchers compared food sources and habitat use in natural marshes, marsh–savannah transition areas, and a cultivated block. They set a 10 km transect in each block and surveyed plants at 34 plots along the transects. Sitatunga fed on 39 plant species across six growth forms: grasses, herbs, sedges, climbers, shrubs, and water weeds. Papyrus and two grass species together made up 58% of their food sources.
Signs of sitatunga and sightings were recorded less often in the cultivated block than in the marshes and marsh–savannah transition areas. The study found that habitat use and food sources were more limited in the disturbed, cultivated area.
IUCN Red List (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group) · Least Concern (LC) · Global
The current Red List table maintained by the IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group classifies sitatunga as Least Concern (LC) globally. A 2024 field study in a Ugandan wetland recorded fewer signs and sightings in the cultivated block, and its authors identified wetland encroachment as a conservation concern.