Hunt History

Waterbuck have long been pursued by humans for their meat and hides, though the oily secretion from their skin makes the meat less desirable than other antelopes. Early hunter-gatherers likely ambushed them near watering holes, using projectiles and traps. Archaeological evidence of suid and bovid hunting across African wetlands suggests that waterbuck were part of this pattern.

Three examples anchoring Kobus ellipsiprymnus in human history and ecology:

Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania (~1 million years ago): Fossil waterbuck remains found among Acheulean stone tools indicate early hominin hunting or scavenging.

Nile Valley, Sudan (Holocene): Rock art depicts antelope resembling waterbuck alongside hunters, likely reflecting their importance to early pastoralists.

Okavango Delta, Botswana (modern ethnography): Local communities traditionally hunted waterbuck using canoes and spears in riverine channels before conservation laws restricted such practices.