Total population numbers have been estimated at 170,000 (perhaps an overestimate), of which 40% occur in and around protected areas. It is now rare and localized in West Africa, and widespread and locally common in Central Africa and some parts of Central, East and southern Africa. Numbers are considered to be generally declining except in some core areas, but the extent of this decline overall is estimated to remain below 20% over 14 years (three generations). Given continuing habitat degradation and intensive meat hunting in parts of its range, if present trends continue, the Sitatunga may disappear from many areas where it still occurs and viable populations will eventually be largely restricted to those regions which currently support substantial, stable or increasing populations.

The Sitatunga probably occurred formerly alongside waterways throughout the lowland forest zone of West and Central Africa, extending into swamp systems in the savanna zones of Central, East and southern Africa. It is now rare and localized in West Africa, with a very small range in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. It may have once occurred more widely in this part of West Africa. It remains widespread elsewhere, from southern Ghana and Benin through the Congo Basin forests and in swamp systems within the savannas of Central, East and southern Africa as far as the Okavango. Long extinct in Niger and probably now also in Togo, but have been confirmed as still surviving in Ghana (May and Lindholm 2013).

The cryptic nature of Sitatunga and the relative inaccessibility of their habitat makes reliable estimates of abundance difficult. Aerial surveys tend to grossly underestimate this species’ numbers (East 1999). Densities of up to 64/km² in Akagera N.P. (Rwanda) and 60/km² in the Busanga Swamps (Zambia) have been recorded (May and Lindholm 2013, and see discussion therein). East (1999) estimated a total population of 170,000, but this is likely to be an overestimate (May and Lindholm 2013). Its numbers are probably decreasing in densely settled areas but stable elsewhere.

Sitatunga occur in tall and dense vegetation of perennial and seasonal swamps, marshy clearings within forests, riverine thickets, and mangrove swamps. In savanna environments, they are typically found in extensive monospecific stands of papyrus Cyperus papyrus and the reeds Phragmites spp. and Echinochloa pyramidalis (May and Lindholm 2013). Sitatunga usually avoid open water devoid of vegetation. They are selective mixed feeders taking a range of grasses, sedges and browse (May and Lindholm 2013). Sitatunga coexist with the Nile Lechwe in the Sudd of South Sudan, and with Southern Lechwe in Zambia, Botswana, and Angola.

Loss of habitat is the main threat to the future persistence of Sitatunga. The ever-increasing loss of wetlands throughout their range has cut off former routes of dispersal and many populations are becoming isolated. Sitatunga are vulnerable to long-term changes in water level because it alters vegetation structure, which in turn largely determines their distribution and abundance. Habitat fragmentation, and both lower and higher water levels make them more vulnerable to predation and meat hunting in many parts of its range (May and Lindholm 2013). Swamps are also extremely vulnerable to fire; vast areas of Bangweulu and Busanga are burnt each year (May and Lindholm 2013). Nonetheless, the Sitatunga shows a remarkable ability to survive near human habitation, provided suitable habitat remains.

Hunting has probably not had a significant effect in the past because of the inaccessibility of their habitat, but with fragmentation of swamps, increasing human population and modern technology this is changing (May and Lindholm 2013). Hunting for bushmeat throughout West Africa is now a major threat (J. Mason pers. comm. in May and Lindholm 2013). In some areas, sustainable trophy hunting is an economically important form of utilization of this species, for example, in northern Botswana, which has produced some of Africa’s largest Sitatunga trophies.

About 40% of the population survives in and around protected areas (East 1999), with major, generally stable populations occurring in Dja and Lobeke (Cameroon), Bangassou (Central African Republic), Odzala N.P. and L. Tele-Likouala (Republic of Congo), Salongo N.P. (DR Congo), Bangweulu and Busanga Swamps (Zambia), Okavango Delta (Botswana), and Akagera N.P. (Rwanda) (East 1999, May and Lindholm 2013). At present, only a few of these areas receive moderate-high levels of protection and management. The current survival of good Sitatunga populations in other areas, such as Lobeke, Bangweulu and Okavango, is a product of low human population densities rather than active conservation (East 1999).

The large areas of swamp within the Okavango Delta currently provide the Sitatunga with a safe refuge (from hunting in particular) to persist in. They should continue to do so, as long as the ecology of the Delta is not altered significantly by factors such as cattle grazing within the swampland, uncontrolled burning, overhunting and hydrological schemes that would affect the water levels in the perennial or seasonal swamps. Moremi Game Reserve contains a limited area of permanent swamp with moderate numbers of Sitatunga, but proposals to incorporate the Xo Flats within this reserve would significantly increase the protected population of this antelope (East 1999). The species’ significance as a trophy animal is an important economic incentive for the conservation of its habitat, and hunting zones adjoining national parks and equivalent reserves have the potential to play an increasingly important role in the conservation of the Sitatunga (East 1999).