# Sitatunga (*Tragelaphus spekii*)

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

The sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii), also called marshbuck, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Bovinae and tribe Tragelaphini. It is a large, terrestrial herbivore with a cathemeral activity pattern, and adults weigh 78 kg, with values up to 87.5 kg reported. The sitatunga is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and its lifespan is 21.5 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 78 kg – 87.5 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 21.5 years – 22.6 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest, wetland |
| Gestation | 228 days – 259 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 13.2 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Artiodactyla
- family: Bovidae
- genus: Tragelaphus
- species: *Tragelaphus spekii* Speke, 1863

Synonyms: *Tragelaphus spekii spekii*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is a sitatunga?

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

### How heavy is a sitatunga?

An adult sitatunga weighs 78 kg, and our sources report weights up to 87.5 kg. This places it in the large size class.

### What does a sitatunga eat?

The sitatunga is a herbivore.

### Is the sitatunga endangered?

No. The sitatunga is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a sitatunga live?

The sitatunga has a lifespan of 21.5 years, with values up to 22.6 years reported by our sources.

### How many young does a sitatunga have?

A sitatunga has 1 young per litter and 1 litter per year. Gestation lasts 242 days.

### Who named the sitatunga?

The sitatunga, Tragelaphus spekii, was named by Speke in 1863.

## 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: Sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sitatunga