Ring around the leader
You can tell a waterbuck by the bull's-eye marking on the rump,
which helps the young follow through high grasses. We have 25 females
and 2 males at Fossil Rim, but they are not presently breeding. We hand-raised Toby, one of the two males. He was castrated and
now lives with the females. He can be identified by his short twisted horns, which he accidentally broke as a calf. The other bull lives in the front pasture and the rest of the herd in the main pasture.
Generally, they keep away from the public. Whenever they are not sure of something, they jump and run.
Waterbucks lack speed and endurance. In the wild, they rely on bushes, wooded areas, and water for protection from predators.
How they live
The waterbucks spend much of the day resting. The herd sticks closely together and is submissive to every other species in the main pasture.
They will interact with white-tailed deer and fallow deer, but are not very competitive or territorial.
Waterbucks tend to be shy at feeding time.
Toby
We hand-raised Toby, one of the two males, he was castrated and now lives with the females.
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