Let’s Learn About Gerenuks!

Yet another long-necked animal!

Dr. Seema Patel (PhD)
Life in the Animal Kingdom
2 min readMar 24, 2024

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When we think of long-necked animals, giraffes, camels, and llamas come to mind.

But there are many more of them! These animals have evolved to grow long necks to reach sparse foliage. Gerenuk is one of them.

During a visit to the San Diego Zoo, I saw gerenuks. They’re also called Waller’s gazelle and are native to Africa.

Their long necks, slender legs, and distinctively small heads allow them to move fast.

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Let’s learn some interesting facts about these long-necked antelopes.

🌸Gerenuks do not drink water regularly. Instead, their water needs are fulfilled by their leafy diet.

🌸Predators of the gerenuks include lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and African wild dogs.

🌸Gerenuks have preorbital glands in front of their eyes which release scented substances. They rub the scents on plants for communication and to mark their territory.

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I hope you enjoyed learning about gerenuks! Let’s respect evolution and save unique animals like gerenuks.

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Dr. Seema Patel (PhD)
Life in the Animal Kingdom

I write about nature, personal life, health, literature, gardening, psychology, art, bioinformatics, and data. Imparting joy, truth and knowledge is the goal.