Thermoregulation and water relations of two East African antelopes: the hartebeest and impala.

Abstract

1. In controlled laboratory experiments rectal temperature, cutaneous moisture evaporation and breathing rate were studied in the hartebeest and impala antelope. 2. 2. At the high air temperatures (40–50°C), the sweating rate rose to 60 g H2O/m2 per hr and the respiratory rate to over 200/min in both species. 3. 3. The water balance of the two species was investigated when the antelope were either fully hydrated or dehydrated at the environmental temperatures of 22°C or alteration between 22 and 40°C at 12-hr intervals. The total body water was estimated in two hartebeest antelope which were allowed to graze freely on the dry pastures of the Athi River Plains.