Antelopes or African antelopes because of this item are hollow-horned ungulate animals found in many parts of the world. Unfortunately, they rarely live to old age, as they are the prime prey for many large predators, from lions and leopards to hyenas and sometimes even crocodiles, and of course, armed people. They typically live on grasslands, scrubland, and forests and are found in most parts of Africa and Asia. Some of these antelope are Gazelle, Eland, Impala, Springbok, Klipspringer, Oryx, Saiga, Waterbuck, Suni, Hartebeest, Topi, Nyala, Bongo, Dik-Dik, Kob, Duiker, Gemsbok to name a few. For the purpose of this article, we will focus specifically on African antelopes . Here are 20 snippets of information aboutAfrican antelopes.
1 – There are about 90 species of antelopes of the genus Antilopinae family Bovidae (cows!). The name “antelope” is used to cover any Bovidae that are *not* sheep, cattle, or goats, and typically includes all species of Alcelaphinae (wildebeest, wildebeest, etc.) , Antilopinae (gazelles, springbok, etc.) and Hippotraginae (oryx, sable antelope, addax and roan antelope) Reduncinae (waterbuck, reedbuck) and cephalophinae (duikers) , plus some cattle (buffalo, bison etc.), the impala and gray rhebok.
2 – African antelopes are native only to Africa. There are also antelopes that are native to Eurasia. it is from another family, Antilocapridae . Many species of African antelope have been imported into the United States and other parts of the world for exotic game hunting, but these extremely agile creatures escape at times climate from which they came!).
4 – The name of the antelope is probably made up of the Greek words “anthos” (flower) and “ops” (eye).
5 – The smallest antelope is the royal antelope, this is only 24 cm at the shoulder and weighs 1.5 kg. The largest is the eland, which can be 1.78 m tall and weigh up to 2,000 lbs (~950 kg). A quick comparison between the two would range from being a little the size and slightly larger than a rabbit to an animal so big that most people can’t see over their shoulder…
Characteristics of the African antelope
6 – The main difference between deer and antelope (aside from being a completely different species!) is that deer shed their antlers every year and regrow them in spring, but antelope only have a single pair of permanent horns, which never be discarded. Of course, both animals use their horns to fight others of their kind and to defend themselves against attack – and the largest antelope horns on the greater kudu can be over 5 feet long!
7 – Most African antelope are short with dense fur ranging in color from beige and brown to black (some in stripes) and a paler underbelly. They live about 8-10 years in the wild (predators permitting) but can live twice as long as in captivity where they are not killed for a predator meal as often!
8 – African antelopes are herbivores; They only eat vegetation such as leaves, grass and seeds, but different species live in different places, from open meadows and swamps to forests and even forests. Some extreme locations also have antelope that can live there, such as the saiga, which lives in extreme cold. the Arabian oryx, adapted for deserts; the semi-aquatic sitatunga and the klipspringer, which live on mountainous rocky slopes.
9 – Most forest and woodland African antelope species live their entire lives in one place, but some of the grassland and plains species are migratory, following the rains and hence their food supply. The most impressive migrations are undertaken by the East African wildebeest, along with zebra and some other antelope, which travel each year from the Serengeti plains in Tanzania to the Masai Mara in Kenya and back.
11 – The largest antelope, the eland, is also the slowest (a relative speed of 70 km/h), but boy, can it jump – it can clear an 8-foot (2.4 m) fence from a standing position – and for an animal that weighs the greater part of two tons, that shows some strength! Some of the smaller antelope can leap higher – about 9 feet (2.7 m) if the balance of size and strength allows (the impala, for example).
12 – African antelopes are bovids (family Bovidae ) – that is, they are ruminant and even-toed (hoofed) ungulates. When a ruminant “chews the haunch,” it spits a ball of food out of its stomach to chew again, then swallows it again as it progresses through the digestive system.
13 – When you look an antelope in the eye, it can be a little disconcerting as they have horizontal pupils. Watching them run is also unsettling as they walk “forward” in a peculiar, hopping gait!
14 – African antelopes aren’t typically silent when it comes to communication – they use a whole range of sounds to communicate, from loud barks and “mosses” to whistles and trumpets.
The family life of the African antelope
15 – The mating season for antelope and other ruminants like them is called the rut when the male bucks fight for the right to lead the female herd and of course the sole right to mate with them.
16 – The bitch will usually give birth to one, occasionally two calves after a gestation period of up to eight months. The calf is able to walk within a few hours of birth and is usually able to keep up with the herd after just a few days.
17 – For the first few weeks the calf remains hidden in the undergrowth most of the time, absolutely still for hours. The mother will call it to feed it when it comes out and when it’s done it will go back to its hiding place. It doesn’t run, even from obvious danger (it’s safer to stay where it is unless the predator knows it’s there), unless it’s obvious it will be spotted.
African antelopes and us
18 – Almost a third of antelope species are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN for the usual (man-made) reasons – loss of habitat, competition with native herds for grazing, and hunters looking for a trophy. As said before, no hunt is a fair sport until the animals are also armed and can shoot back…
19 – Antelope horn is said to have medicinal properties and even magical powers in many cultures. In Eastern practice, for example, the saiga horn is said to be an aphrodisiac (the main reason it’s almost extinct) and it’s claimed they can trap spirits in the Congo. Christians have even managed to make the two horns symbolic of the two Christian “symbolic weapons” – the Old and New Testaments.
20 – In the normal way of humans, we have tried to domesticate antelopes over the years with less success than some of their relatives. The males are too territorial and aggressive to live in too close proximity to one another or to us, and preventing escape when they can jump almost any fence adds to the problems, especially as they perceive humans as predators and are perennially in Panic and keep running see you! When kept in mixed herds, they also tend to hybridize, which is far from ideal.
Then it’s probably best to just enjoy them in their natural habitat. At least as long as the trigger-happy hunters allow it.