Kobus vardonii
Silhouette: Jan A. Venter, Herbert H. T. Prins, David A. Balfour & Rob Slotow (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
The puku (Kobus vardonii) is a medium-sized antelope found in wet grasslands in southern Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and more concentrated in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Nearly one-third of all puku are found in protected areas, zoos, and national parks due to their diminishing habitat.
Puku stand about 80 cm (31 in) at the shoulder and weigh from 70 to 80 kg (150 to 180 lb). The puku is sandy brown in colour, with the underbelly a slightly lighter brown. The coat is rougher than that of the similar-sized southern reedbuck, lechwe or impala, or the smaller oribi. Males have horns which are ridge-structured, 50 cm (20 in) long, and lyre-shaped.
There are two subspecies, the Senga Puku (Kobus vardonii senganus) and the southern puku (Kobus vardonii vardonii). Puku are found almost exclusively in marshy grassland and dambos, where they eat grasses. The puku diet is flexible in regards to type of grasses consumed. There is little dietary competition with other bovids. This species is crepuscular, active in the early morning and late afternoon. When scared, puku repeat a shrill whistle sound. Females gather... Wikipedia →
Alarm call0:15
Zambia · 2023
© Marc Anderson · XC1077455 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Luangwa National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 2 | Kafue National Park | 🇿🇲 Zambia | |
| 3 | Chobe National Park | 🇧🇼 Botswana |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Le Pal | 🇫🇷 France |
Very likely
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Puku sighting in Kafue National Park on a given day, based on 93 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the most-seen of the 29 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 90% of wildlife watchers report a Puku in Kafue National Park on a given day, against about 20% in February and March, the lowest months. That is one of Kafue National Park's driest months, with almost no rain against 290 mm in January.
Between 6 and 9 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Puku sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 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 Puku sightings, Kafue National Park ranks 2nd at about 70%. The best odds are in South Luangwa National Park (Zambia, about 80%).
Same genus: Kobus
The closest relatives of the Puku that you can see in Kafue National Park (genus Kobus, Waterbucks, Kobs, and Lechwes) are Waterbuck (about 40%) and Lechwe (about 40%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Puku is recorded against all the mammals logged in Kafue National Park (93 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.
