This striking species is the largest and most colourful of all African antelope, immediately recognisable by its rich chestnut-red coat, conspicuously striped with 10 to 15 thin, white vertical lines on the torso and rump. Equally impressive are the bongo's (Tragelaphus eurycerus) long, spiralling horns, which reach up to around a metre in length. Although the sexes are similar in appearance, males are larger than females and their coat darkens with age, eventually becoming brownish-black, and females tend to possess longer, thinner and more parallel horns than males. Both sexes possess a crest of hair that runs the length of the back and the legs are boldly patterned with chestnut, black, and white. Other notable features include large ears, a conspicuous white chevron between the eyes, two large white spots on each cheek and a whitish collar at the base of the neck. The eastern bongo is larger than its West African counterpart.
