The blue buck, scientifically known as Hippotragus leucophaeus, was an antelope species native to South Africa that vanished around 1800. This animal holds the distinction as one of the first large African mammals documented as driven to extinction by human activities in the modern historical period.
Physical Characteristics and Habitat
The blue buck was notably smaller than its relatives, the roan and sable antelopes, though it shared their general body plan. Its coat was described as bluish-grey, a coloration likely an optical effect caused by a mix of black and yellow hairs that thinned with age, or perhaps due to specific lighting conditions. This antelope had long, scimitar-shaped horns, which could measure up to 56.5 centimeters along their curve, and its face often displayed pale whitish markings. The blue buck’s ears were described as donkey-like, and it lacked the prominent mane seen in some other antelope species. Its habitat was primarily confined to the temperate grasslands and wetlands of the Overberg region in South Africa’s Western Cape.
The Path to Extinction
The blue buck’s demise around 1800 resulted from a combination of pressures, primarily the arrival of European settlers. Settlers engaged in intense and unregulated hunting of the species for meat and pelts. Simultaneously, native grasslands were rapidly converted into farmland for crops and livestock, causing widespread habitat loss and fragmentation.
Scientific analysis suggests the blue buck population may have already been in a natural decline for thousands of years prior to European arrival. This decline is theorized to have been driven by climate change after the last ice age, which caused its specialized grassland habitat to shrink. Overgrazing by domesticated livestock belonging to indigenous inhabitants, which began around 400 BC, also contributed to the reduction of its diet.
Genetic Legacy and Relatives
The blue buck belonged to the genus Hippotragus, placing it as a close relative of the roan and sable antelopes. For a time, scientists debated whether the blue buck was a distinct species or merely a subspecies of the roan antelope. Modern DNA analysis of preserved specimens has since confirmed its unique species status within the Hippotragus genus.
Specimens of the blue buck are exceedingly rare, with only four mounted skins known to exist in museums in Leiden, Stockholm, Vienna, and Paris, alongside a few skulls and bones. Recent genetic studies of these limited remains have revealed low levels of genetic diversity within the species by the time of European colonization, suggesting its population size was already small and vulnerable. These analyses also indicate ancient gene flow occurred between the roan and blue antelope.