Kobus leche
Silhouette: Jan A. Venter, Herbert H. T. Prins, David A. Balfour & Rob Slotow (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The lechwe, red lechwe, or southern lechwe (Kobus leche) is an antelope found in wetlands of south-central Africa. The lechwe is native to Botswana, Zambia, southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, northeastern Namibia, and eastern Angola, especially in the Okavango Delta, Kafue Flats, and Bangweulu Wetlands. The species is fairly common in zoos and wild animal farms.
Adult lechwe typically stand 90 to 100 cm (35 to 39 in) at the shoulder and generally weigh from 50 to 120 kg (110 to 260 lb), with males being larger than females. They are golden brown with white bellies. Males are darker in colour, but exact hue and amount of blackish on the front legs, chest and body varies depending on subspecies. The long, spiral horns are vaguely lyre-shaped and borne only by males. The hind legs are somewhat longer in proportion than in other antelopes to ease long-distance running on marshy soil.
Lechwe are found in marshy areas where they are an important herbivore of aquatic plants, as well as grasses that are found in flooded meadows. They use the knee-deep water as protection from predators. Their legs are covered in a water-repellant substance... Wikipedia →
Recording0:01
Zambia · 2023
© eliegaget · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moremi Game Reserve | 🇧🇼 Botswana | |
| 2 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Lechwe sighting in Kafue National Park on a given day, based on 40 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 29 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 70% of wildlife watchers report a Lechwe in Kafue National Park on a given day, against about 10% in November to May, the lowest months. That is one of Kafue National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in January.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lechwe sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 3
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Lechwe sightings, Kafue National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Moremi Game Reserve (Botswana, about 60%).
Same genus: Kobus
The closest relatives of the Lechwe that you can see in Kafue National Park (genus Kobus, Waterbucks, Kobs, and Lechwes) are Puku (about 70%) and Waterbuck (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Lechwe is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kafue National Park (40 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
