Oribi
Ourebia ourebi (Zimmermann, 1783)
The oribi (Ourebia ourebi), also called the southern oribi, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae, order Artiodactyla. It is a medium-sized, terrestrial herbivore with a cathemeral activity pattern, and adults weigh 17.25 kg.
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Quick facts about the oribi
Each litter has 1 young after a gestation period of 210.5 days, there are 1.53 litters per year, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.1 years. The IUCN Red List classifies the oribi as Least Concern, which is not an IUCN threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 15.83 years.
- Weight
- 17.3 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Height
- 50 cm – 67 cmsrc for Height
- Lifespan
- 15.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grasslandsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 198 days – 213 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 12.2 months – 14 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.53src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the oribi?
Photos of the oribi
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
_female_(18199933351).jpg){kind=link}
Where does the oribi live?
Not recorded
What is the oribi?
The oribi (; Ourebia ourebi) is a small antelope found in eastern, southern and western Africa. The sole member of its genus, it was described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1783. While this is the only member in the genus Ourebia, eight subspecies are identified. The oribi reaches nearly 50–67 centimetres (20–26 in) at the shoulder and weighs 12–22 kilograms (26–49 lb). It possesses a slightly raised back, and long neck and limbs. The glossy, yellowish to rufous brown coat contrasts with the white chin, throat, underparts and rump. Only males possess horns; the thin, straight horns, 8–18 centimetres (3.1–7.1 in) long, are smooth at the tips and ringed at the base.
Typically diurnal, the oribi is active mainly during the day. Small herds of up to four members are common; males defend their group's territory, 25–100 hectares (62–247 acres) large. It is primarily a grazer, and prefers fresh grasses but also browses occasionally. A seasonal breeder, the time when mating occurs varies geographically. Unlike all other small antelopes, oribi can exhibit three types of mating systems, depending on the habitat – polyandry, polygyny and polygynandry. Gestation lasts for six to seven months, following which a single calf is born; births peak from November to December in southern Africa. Weaning takes place at four to five months.
The oribi occurs in a variety of habitats – from savannahs, floodplains and tropical grasslands with 10–100 centimetres (3.9–39.4 in) tall grasses to montane grasslands at low altitudes, up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above the sea level. This antelope is highly sporadic in distribution, ranging from Senegal in the west to Ethiopia and Eritrea in the east and southward to Angola and the Eastern Cape (South Africa). The oribi has been classified as Least Concern by the IUCN; numbers have declined due to agricultural expansion and competition from livestock.
From the Wikipedia article “Oribi” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Oribi&oldid=1314607580), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the oribi endangered?
The oribi is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the oribi classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusOurebia
- SpeciesOurebia ourebi (Zimmermann, 1783)
Synonyms Antilope ourebi, Ourebia ourebi dorcas, Ourebia ourebi gallarum, Ourebia ourebi haggardi, Ourebia ourebi ourebi, Ourebia ourebi rutila
Other names and names in other languages (21)
- Southern oribiEnglish
- Southern oribiEnglish
- OorbietjieAfrikaans
- أوريبيArabic
- BleichbockchenGerman
- BleichböckchenGerman
- Südliches OribiGerman
- Lɔ̈ɔ̈cDinka
- Αντιλόπη ΟρίμπιGreek
- OribíSpanish
- OurébiFrench
- Dik-dik di PrateriaItalian
- オリビJapanese
- 오리비영양Korean
- oribi smukłonogiPolish
- ОрибиRussian
- Phuduhudu KgamaneTswana
- ОрібіUkrainian
- WulaXhosa
- iWulaXhosa
- 侏羚Chinese
Relatives of the oribi
Other species in the same genus Ourebia.
CompareOribi vs Central oribiOribi vs Sudan oribiOribi vs Western oribi
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is an oribi?
Adult oribi weigh 17.25 kg, which places them in the medium size class (adult body mass 1 to 25 kg).
What does the oribi eat?
The oribi is a herbivore.
Is the oribi endangered?
No. The oribi is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does an oribi live?
The oribi's lifespan is given as 15.83 years, with values up to 15.9 years reported.
How many young does an oribi have?
An oribi has 1 young per litter, with 1.53 litters per year, after a gestation period of 210.5 days.
When does an oribi reach sexual maturity?
The oribi reaches sexual maturity at 399 days (1.1 years), with reported values from 1.0 to 1.2 years.
What kind of animal is the oribi?
The oribi is a terrestrial mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae, within the order Artiodactyla.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Oribi (Ourebia ourebi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/oribi
“Oribi (Ourebia ourebi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/oribi.
@misc{oribi_2026,
title = {Oribi (Ourebia ourebi)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/oribi},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}