ELAND /EE.lund/ n. a type of large African antelope

Eland is actually the informal name for the genus Taurotragus. There are two species of eland within this genus: the common eland (that’s him above), and the giant eland (that’s one on a lunch break below)…

As you can see, the two species have a similar PELAGE (an animal’s coat of hair, fur or wool, pronounced /PEL.ij/), but the giant eland is easily distinguished by, among other things, its pendulous DEWLAP (that’s a loose fold of skin hanging from the neck, pronounced /DYOO.lap/ or /DOO.lap/).

And yes, both of these words could appear on your final exam!

The technical names of the common and giant elands are Taurotragus oryx and Taurotragus derbianus respectively. A slightly confusing thing about the first of these labels is that ORYX, when used on its own, actually refers to an entirely different genus, itself consisting of four antelope species!

I’ve never understood animal taxonomy.

Let’s finish off with some gorgeous footage of these creatures, along with some of their Scrabbly relatives, sharing a watering hole at dusk…