# Roan antelope (*Hippotragus equinus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/roan-antelope  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Hippotragini, within the order Artiodactyla. It is a terrestrial, diurnal herbivore in the giant size class, with a representative adult body mass of 270 kg. The IUCN Red List lists the roan antelope as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is recorded at up to 25.9 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 233.5 kg – 270 kg |
| Length | 1.9 m – 2.4 m |
| Height | 1.3 m – 1.4 m |
| Lifespan | 25.8 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 25.9 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 274 days – 304 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 2 years – 2.23 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1.18 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Bovidae
- genus: Hippotragus
- species: *Hippotragus equinus* (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1803)

Synonyms: *Antilope equinus*, *Hippotragus equinus*, *Hippotragus equinus bakeri*, *Hippotragus equinus cottoni*, *Hippotragus equinus equinus*, *Hippotragus equinus koba*, *Hippotragus equinus langheldi*, *Hippotragus equinus scharicus*

## Common questions

### How heavy is a roan antelope?

The roan antelope has a representative adult body mass of 270 kg, which places it in the giant size class. The lowest adult body mass reported by our sources is 233.5 kg.

### What does the roan antelope eat?

The roan antelope is a herbivore. It is terrestrial and diurnal.

### Is the roan antelope endangered?

No. The roan antelope is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a roan antelope live?

The roan antelope has a lifespan of 25.8 years, with a highest reported value of 25.9 years.

### How many young does a roan antelope have?

The roan antelope has 1 young per litter, with 1.18 litters per year. Gestation lasts 283.8 days, from 273.9 to 304.4 days across our sources.

### When does a roan antelope reach sexual maturity?

The roan antelope reaches sexual maturity at 772 days (2.1 years), with reported values from 2.0 to 2.2 years.

### What kind of animal is the roan antelope?

The roan antelope is a mammal in the family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla, belonging to the genus Hippotragus.

## 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: Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/roan-antelope