for the antelope as tsessĕbe, by 1895 it was thought that this was the origin for the anglicised word. Other names for the antelope which were recorded by Frederick Selous around this time were inkweko in the language of the Masubians of the Caprivi Strip (related to Lozi), incolomo and incomazan in the isiNdebele of "Matebele", unchuru was the Sekuba name given by the Makuba of northern Botswana, inyundo by the Makalaka, and luchu or lechu by the Masaras. The antelope was recorded as called myanzi in isiZulu and the bastaard hartebeest by the Afrikaners, indeed it looks somewhat like a cross between a hartebeest and a horse. The new vernacular name 'common tsessebe' was invented by Peter Grubb in 2005 to refer to Damaliscus lunatus lunatus to distinguish it from the new Bangweulu taxon. Conservation status In 1998 the IUCN estimated a total tsessebe population of 30,000, including the Bangweulu animals. It was assessed as 'lower risk (conservation dependent)'. In the 2016 update to the Red List of Mammals of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho, the minimum South African population was estimated as 2,256–2,803 individuals, of which the total minimum mature population size was 1,353–1,962; this was believed to be a significant underestimate, due to not getting enough responses from private game reserves on time for publication. During 1980s and 1990s tsessebe populations in South Africa and Zimbabwe declined significantly, especially in the National Parks. In 1999 the populations stabilised and began to grow again, especially in private game reserves. There were a number of different theories advanced as to what was causing this decline, while other species were doing well. One 2006 theory for this decline was that bush encroachment was playing a primary role. As of 2016, interspecific competition is believed to have played a primary role, with the decline in tsessebe being caused by the proliferation of other antelope species, which was itself due to the opening of man-made watering holes in the game parks. Closing watering holes is believed to increase habitat heterogeneity in the parks, which would favour the tsessebe. Initially an uncommon animal, in the 2000s the population on private game reserves in both South Africa and Zimbabwe, primarily stocked for the trophy hunting industry, began to grow quickly, with large jumps seen in the 2010s. As a large percentage of these animals are found in wild conditions in their natural areas of