This is a Hirola. You've never heard of it? -Don't worry, few have!

The sad thing is that it's not likely to be around for much longer. Hirola is one of the rarest mammals in the World with a total population of only about 400 individuals and falling. There are none in captivity. What's more it is the last representative of a unique genus of the subfamily of antelope which includes Hartebeest, Wildebeest, Topi and Blesbok. Its loss will represent the first extinction of an entire genus on mainland Africa in historical times.

The Hirola (also known as Four-eyed Antelope or Hunter's hartebeest) has a restricted range in north-eastern Kenya along the Somali border. It was once also found in Somalia but this whole area has been hit hard by drought, famine and lawlessness. A small population was transferred to a part of Tsavo East NP as an insurance policy but unfortunately they have failed to thrive here due to competition from Topi and the high level of predators in the area.

The Hirola's last hope rests with a handful of clans of Somali pastoralists in an area of Kenya along the Tana river called Ishaqbini. They have donated land and offered their services to establish a community-based conservancy to protect this rare antelope.

I spent a few days in Tsavo East in July 2012. We spent two whole days looking for Hirola without success. On our last afternoon we were drinking cold beers from a shaded viewing area at the Aruba Ashnil lodge before an afternoon game drive. We were looking out over the dried out pans of the Aruba Dam when out of the heat-haze -as if by magic, a bull Hirola appeared. We could not believe our eyes and after a few stunned moments I huffed and puffed back to our room to get my gear ....I don't think the lodge staff had ever seen a fat man move so fast!