Abstract
This study serves to consolidate various scattered data on the biology of the bushbuck, as well as to establish some firm base line for future research. To this end, the status of bushbuck in the northeast corner of the Chobe National Park is assessed in detail as a gauge to the species' requirements. Population parameters from this area are evaluated against similar information from other localities in the Zambesi Valley drainage area. Vegetation, habitat analysis and selection by bushbuck, feeding preferences, and the effects of heavy utilization by other wildlife species are determined with a view to establishing optimum conditions for the species. Bushbuck appear to be influenced in their distribution by both plant density and cover, with a tendency for selection of thicket-like conditions where there are both plant diversity and habitat dispersion at the local level. Food studies indicate bushbuck to be a selective feeder capable of single-species feeding if necessary, but a wide spectrum of food plants are eaten. These are principally woody browse species, but some herbaceous plants and grasses may also be used. The presence of other wildlife species in preferred bushbuck habitats may have some direct effect on bushbuck distribution, but the indirect influence through habitat damage is most pertinent to bushbuck survival and dispersal. Bushbuck biology is closely geared to the seasonal changes in the environment; this is seen in habitat selection, feeding, animal density, distribution and behavior. Several parameters are evaluated as a measure of seasonal change in the Chobe area, and these are associated with changes in the status of the species. ...
Simpson, Christopher David (1974). Ecology of the Zambesi Valley bushbuck Tragelaphus scriptus ornatus Pocock. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -173215.