Sunday fun Facts
This post is sponsored by SAASA and Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary
Fun Facts about Springbuck's
Springbuck Latin Name Antidorcas marsupialis
DID YOU KNOW?
The springbok is a medium
sized antelope found mainly in southern and southwestern Africa.
The common name "springbok" comes from the Afrikaans words spring ("jump") and bok ("antelope" or "goat"). The first recorded use of the name dates to 1775.
The sole member of the genus Antidorcas , this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780.
Three subspecies of Springbok are identified.
The springbok is characterised by a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light brown coat marked by a reddish brown stripe that runs from the upper fore leg to the buttocks across the flanks like the Thomson's gazelle, and a white rump flap.
Springbok are generally quiet animals, though they may make occasional low pitched bellows as a greeting and high pitched snort s when alarmed.
Active mainly at dawn and dusk, springbok form harems (mixed sex herds).
In earlier times, springbok of the Kalahari desert and Karoo migrated in large numbers across the countryside, a practice known as trekbokking .
A feature, peculiar but not unique, to the springbok is pronking . When frightened or excited, a springbok makes a series of stiff legged vertical leaps up to 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) high. This behaviorur is known as pronking and is performed with the head down, the hooves bunched, and the back arched. The leaps are said to distract predators.
Primarily a browser, the springbok feeds on shrubs and succulents; this antelope can live without drinking water for years, meeting its requirements through eating succulent vegetation.
Breeding takes place year round, and peaks in the rainy season, when forage is most abundant. A single calf is born after a five to six month long pregnancy; weaning occurs at nearly six months of age, and the calf leaves its mother a few months later.
Both sexes have a pair of black, 35 to 50 cm (14 to 20 in) long horns that curve backwards.
Springbok inhabit the dry areas of south and southwestern Africa.
The springbok is the national animal of South Africa.
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