springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis)
Phylum: vertebrata
Class: mammalia
Order: artiodactyla
Family: bovidae
Characteristics:
Length: 4 feet
Height at Shoulders: 2 to 3 feet
Weight: 75 pounds
black, ringed horns in both sexes
Gestation Period: 171 days
one young, in November or December
Color:
fawn above, white underside
brown band along side
white tail and rump patch
When frightened, the African springbok opens a fold of skin on its back to display a crest of white hairs. This serves as a warning to the herd. The springbok can leap ten feet into the air, with its legs held stiff and close together. The springbok can survive without drinking water, by taking moisture from the shrubs it eats. Springbok herds travel great distances in search of grazing grounds.
Once, springboks wandered the treeless velds in densely-packed herds so huge that it took days for a herd to pass a single point. Because these great migrations ruined crops, the South African government issued rifles to its citizens in an effort to destroy the springbok. Proachers also killed hundreds of springboks. Now this antelope is very rare, surviving only in two state parks in SOuth Africa, as well as in Angola. The same government that slaughtered the springbok has honored the animal by making it the national emblem of the Republic of South Africa.
The springbok is easily tamed and it thrives in captivity. It can be seen in most zoos.
