Gerenuk (female), Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania

Gerenuk means "giraffe-necked" in the Somali language. Appropriately, this antelope's most outstanding characteristic is its exceptionally long neck. The gerenuk's head is small for its size, but its eyes and ears are large. Only the males have horns, which are stout and heavily ringed, and they have a more heavily muscled neck than the females do. They are brown on the upper back and lighter on the sides. The short tail looks longer as it ends in a tuft of black hair. Like many other gazelles, gerenuks have pre-orbital glands in front of the eyes that emit a tar-like, scent-bearing substance they deposit on twigs and bushes to mark their territory. They also have scent glands on their knees that are covered by tufts of hair and between their split hooves. Gerenuks are found in habitats with woody vegetation, especially dry, flat thornbush. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from June 1966 to early August 1966.