The Impala
The graceful impala is a slender,
medium-sized antelope so adaptable that it is found from southern
Africa to the northern limits of East Africa.
The body is
reddish-brown with white hair inside the ears, over each eye and on
the chin, upper throat, underparts and buttocks.
A narrow
black line runs along the middle of the lower back to the long tail,
and a vertical black stripe appears on the back of each thigh. Unlike
other antelopes, impalas have large, brushlike tufts of long, coarse
black hair that cover a scent gland located just above the heel on
each hind leg.
Family: Antelope
Size:
28 to 36 inches tall; weight: 100 to 135 pounds
Diet:
Grazers and browsers, Impalas eat tender young grass shoots in
the wet season and herbs and shrubs at other times. During the dry
season they drink daily.
Habitat:
Savanna and light woodland. Impalas are found at grassland and
woodland edges, usually very close by water.
Socialisation:
Their social organisation allows impalas to adapt to
prevailing environmental conditions. When food is plentiful, the
males become territorial. In home ranges averaging 3 square miles,
six to eight dominant males set up territories. They stand with erect
posture, rub scent from face glands and make dung heaps to mark their
territory.
The females form herds of 10 to 50 or more and
wander in and out of male territories. If they start to leave the
territory, the male tries to herd them back to the centre, or he
feigns danger just beyond his boundary by taking a stance normally
used as a warning sign.
He tries to mate with females in
oestrus and defends his territory from challenging males. Bachelor
males are allowed to remain in male territories if they ignore the
females.
The territorial male's challenger will have worked
his way up through the hierarchy of the bachelor group until he
becomes the dominant male. He then leaves the group and challenges a
territorial male through horn duels.
Reproduction:
Between 6 and 7 months, a single fawn is born
Life
span: 12 years
Predators: Lions,
leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and hunting dogs
