A large antelope that lives in grassland and open woodland.
A loose fold of skin hangs beneath the throat and neck. Both sexes have twisted horns, and males grow larger than females.
The number of eland at one reserve changed sharply as rainfall and management changed. At S.A. Lombard Nature Reserve in western South Africa, a population founded by four animals in 1950–51 was kept near 35 through culling and translocation. Heavy rains in 1976 and 1977 caused flooding, while culling and removals were temporarily suspended. The floods also increased plant growth, and the population reached 81 in 1981.
When the flood effects faded and the extra herbs declined, the researchers considered that winter browse could no longer support the larger population. Sixty-six eland died over the following three years, and the reserve’s supportable population was estimated at about 30–40. Records of 224 births from 1951 to 1985 show that calves were born throughout the year, with most births from October to December and a peak in November.
IUCN Red List (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group) · Least Concern (LC) · Global
The IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group’s current online status table lists the Common Eland as Least Concern (LC) globally (checked 23 October 2026); the table gives no assessment date or global population trend. A separate 2025 regional assessment for South Africa, Eswatini, and Lesotho also lists it as LC and reports an increasing regional trend. That assessment largely relies on 2016 population information because newer data were not robust enough to update the estimates, and it records declines in some local populations.