# Common eland (*Taurotragus oryx*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-eland  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common eland (Taurotragus oryx), also called the eland, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Tragelaphini. It is a giant terrestrial herbivore with an adult body mass of 570 kg, and it is diurnal. Its lifespan is 25 years, with values up to 26.1 years reported by our sources.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 291.2 kg – 570 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Height | 1.4 m – 1.6 m |
| Lifespan | 25 years – 26.1 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | leaves |
| Habitat | grassland, woodland |
| Gestation | 259 days – 289 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 18.8 months – 22.1 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.14 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Bovidae
- genus: Taurotragus
- species: *Taurotragus oryx* (Pallas, 1766)

Synonyms: *Antilope oryx*, *Tragelaphus oryx*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common eland?

The common eland is a mammal in the family Bovidae and order Artiodactyla. It belongs to the subfamily Bovinae and the tribe Tragelaphini.

### How heavy is the common eland?

The common eland has an adult body mass of 570 kg. It falls in the giant size class, meaning an adult body mass over 250 kg.

### What does the common eland eat?

The common eland is a herbivore.

### How long does the common eland live?

The common eland has a lifespan of 25 years, and our sources report values up to 26.1 years.

### How long is the common eland's gestation period?

The gestation period of the common eland is 271 days, with reported values from 258.7 to 289.2 days.

### How many young does the common eland have?

The common eland has 1 young per litter, with 1.14 litters per year.

### When does the common eland reach sexual maturity?

The common eland reaches sexual maturity at 1.7 years (621.7 days), with reported values from 1.6 to 1.8 years.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common eland (Taurotragus oryx). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-eland