Хирола: Редкая антилопа Восточной Африки

Species of antelope
Speciesbox
| name = Hirola
| image = Damaliscus hunteri The book of antelopes (1894). png
| image caption = Illustration by Philip Sclater in 1894
| status = CR
| status system = IUCN3.1
| status ref =
| taxon = Beatragus hunteri
| parent authority =
| authority= (Sclater, 1889)
| synonyms ref= It was first described by the big game hunter and zoologist H. C. V. Hunter in 1888. It is the only living member of the genus Beatragus, though other species are known from the fossil record. The global hirola population is estimated at 300–500 animals and there are none in captivity. According to a document produced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature "the loss of the hirola would be the first extinction of a mammalian genus on mainland Africa in modern human history".

The hirola is a medium sized antelope, tan to rufous tawny in colour with slightly lighter under parts, predominantly white inner ears and a white tail which extends down to the hocks. It has very sharp, lyrate horns which lack a basal pedicle and are ridged along three quarters of their length. As hirola age their coat darkens towards a slate grey and the number of ridges along their horns increases. Hirola have large, dark sub orbital glands used for marking their territories and give them the name "four eyed antelope". They have white spectacles around their eyes and an inverted white chevron running between the eyes. The horns, hooves, udders, nostrils, lips and ear tips are black. Males and females look similar although males are slightly larger with thicker horns and darker coats. Several sources have recorded precise measurements from both captive and wild hirola. The following are maximum and minimum values taken from all sources: height at the shoulder: 99–125 cm, body weight: 73–118 kg, head and body length: 120–200 cm, horn length: 44–72 cm, horn spread (greatest outside width): 15–32 cm, tail length: 30–45 cm, ear length: 19 cm. It is not stated whether horn length was measured direct from base to tip or along the curve of the horn. There is no data on how long hirola live in the wild but in captivity they have been known to live for 15 years. or placed it within its own genus as Beatragus hunteri. Recent genetic analyses on karyotypic and mitochondrial DNA support the theory that the hirola is distinct from the topi and should be placed in its own genus. They also indicate that the hirola is in fact more closely related to Alcelaphus than to Damaliscus. Placing the hirola in its own genus is further supported by behavioural observations. Neither Alcelaphus nor Damaliscus engage in flehmen, where the male tastes the urine of the female to determine oestrus. They are the only genera of bovids to have lost this behaviour. Hirola still engage in flehmen although it is less obvious than in other species. The genus Beatragus originated around 3.1 million years ago and was once widespread with fossils found in Ethiopia, Djibouti, Tanzania and South Africa.

The hirola is adapted to arid environments with annual rainfall averaging Their habitats range from open grassland with light bush to wooded savannahs with low shrubs and scattered trees, most often on sandy soils. Despite the arid environments they inhabit, hirola appear to be able to survive independently of surface water. Andanje observed hirola drinking on only 10 occasions in 674 observations (1.5%) and all 10 observations of drinking occurred at the height of the dry season. Hirola do however favour short green grass and in 392 of 674 observations (58%) hirola were grazing on growths of short green grass around waterholes. This association with waterholes may have led to reports that hirola are dependent on surface water. They favour grasses with a high leaf to stem ratio and Chloris and Digitaria species are believed to be important in their diet. They feed on the dominant grasses of the region and Kingdon (1982) believes that quantity is more important than quality in the hirola's diet. Whilst hirola avoid direct association with livestock, they reportedly prefer the short grass in areas where livestock have grazed. Young hirola leave the nursery herd at around nine months of age and form various temporary associations. They may gather together in mixed or single sex herds of up to three individuals; sub adult or subordinate adult males may form bachelor herds of 2 38 individuals; female sub adults may join an adult male and; if no other hirola are present, young hirola may attach themselves to a herd of Grant's gazelles or simply spend most of their time alone. Nursery herds do not defend a territory but do have home ranges which overlap the territories of several adult males. In captivity one of the main causes of mortality is wounds caused by intra hirola aggression, including aggression between females. This hartebeest prefers areas that are used by livestock which puts them at increased risk from diseases like tuberculosis. It might be vulnerable to poaching, and is also subject to the natural phenomena of predation and competition with other wild herbivores, particularly topi and Coke's hartebeest, which the IUCN also calls 'threats'.

The hirola's natural range is an area of no more than 1,500 km2 on the Kenyan Somali border, but there is also a translocated population in Tsavo East National Park. The natural population in the 1970s was likely to number 10,000–15,000 individuals but there was an 85–90% decline between 1983 and 1985. A survey in 1995 and 1996 estimated the population to number between 500 and 2,000 individuals with 1,300 as the most reasonable estimate. A 2010 survey estimated a population of 402–466 hirola.

Hirola are critically endangered and their numbers continue to decline in the wild. There are between 300–500 individuals in the wild and none currently in captivity. As of 2014, a 23 km2 predator proof fenced sanctuary has been constructed at Ishaqbini and a founding population of 48 hirola is breeding well within the sanctuary.