Wildlife. Updated November 2026. 4 min read.
The first time you hear an eland herd walk past, you may not believe your guide: a soft, steady clicking, like a room full of people cracking their knuckles. It comes from the knees of the largest antelope in the world. An old eland bull can weigh about 900 kilograms, as much as a big ox, and still clear a fence taller than you from a standstill. In Kiswahili the eland is pofu.
In Kenya you will find eland in the Maasai Mara, especially the eastern side and the conservancies, in Nairobi National Park, across the Laikipia conservancies such as Ol Pejeta and Lewa, at Lake Nakuru, in Hell's Gate and in parts of Tsavo and the Chyulu Hills. They are present all year, but they are shy and keep their distance, so a good guide and a pair of binoculars matter more than the season.
What you are looking at
The common eland is a tawny, cattle-sized antelope with faint white stripes on the flanks and a short dark mane. Both sexes carry straight horns with a tight spiral twist. Bulls grow a heavy dewlap of skin hanging from the throat, a tuft of dark hair on the forehead, and turn grayer and bluer with age. Cows are smaller and lighter, with thinner, longer horns. The giant eland of West and Central Africa, a separate species, is similar in size, but the common eland is the one you will see in Kenya.
Eland among the big antelopes
| Antelope | Typical weight | Horns | Where in Kenya |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common eland | Cows about 300 to 600 kg; bulls up to about 900 kg | Both sexes; tight spirals | Mara, Nairobi NP, Laikipia, Nakuru |
| Mountain bongo | About 200 to 400 kg | Both sexes; open spirals | Aberdare and Mount Kenya forests; very rare |
| Roan antelope | About 220 to 300 kg | Both sexes; swept back | Ruma National Park only |
| Waterbuck | About 160 to 250 kg | Males only; long and ringed | Near water in most parks |
| Beisa oryx | About 150 to 200 kg | Both sexes; long and straight | Samburu, Tsavo East, Meru |
Behavior to watch for
- The clicking: the sound comes from the front legs as the animal walks. Research suggests the click carries information about a bull's size, so other males can hear who is coming.
- The jump: despite their bulk, eland jump easily from a standing start, clearing heights well over a meter and a half.
- Shyness: eland are among the most wary antelopes in Kenya, often moving off at a few hundred meters. Approach slowly, stay quiet and let the guide angle the vehicle.
- Browsing: eland eat leaves and shoots as well as grass, and bulls use their horns to break off branches out of reach.
- Herds: groups range from a few animals to herds of a hundred or more, and they come together and split up often.
- Heat: eland feed through the cool night and rest by day, and they can go long periods without drinking, getting water from leaves.
Three things most people do not know
- Eland are calm in captivity and give rich milk, so they have been ranched experimentally in Africa and Europe for more than a century.
- Many Maasai traditionally avoided eating wild game, and eland and buffalo are often described as the exceptions, because they were thought to be close to cattle.
- Eland are slow runners for an antelope but can keep up a steady trot for a very long time, which is how they escape most predators that do not catch them in the first rush.
Predators and eland
A grown eland is too big for most predators. Lions are the main threat to adults, and spotted hyenas and wild dogs take calves, as do leopards now and then. Eland mothers leave newborns hidden in cover at first, and calves later join nursery groups watched over by the adults. Bulls will stand their ground and use their horns when pressed.
How to photograph eland
Their shyness is the challenge, so use your longest lens, at least 400 mm, and shoot from a resting vehicle rather than chasing. A herd crossing open ground in Nairobi National Park, with the city skyline behind, makes a picture you cannot take anywhere else. Low evening light picks out the white flank stripes and the dewlap. Watch for the jump: if a herd is approaching a ditch or a fence line, pre-focus and set a fast shutter.
Conservation status
The IUCN lists the common eland as Least Concern, but it has disappeared from much of its former range outside parks. In Kenya eland are found mainly in national parks and in private and community conservancies, and their numbers are tracked in national wildlife counts. Their shyness is partly a result of a long history of hunting. Wide, connected rangeland, kept open by conservancies, is what eland need most.
Trips where you will see eland
A half day in Nairobi National Park is the easiest way to add eland to any trip. On a longer safari, the Laikipia conservancies and the Mara conservancies give good chances, often together with rhinos, lions and the northern species. Our antelopes field guide covers the rest of the family.
