Overview
Physical characteristics, other than color, are the same as the South African Springbok.
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammal
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus
- Antidorcas
- Species
- Antidorcas marsupialis
Habitat
Open plains. Distribution- Private ranches in South Africa. The original population came from the farm Skietkuil, near Hutchinson in Cape Province. Found in Etosha National Park.
Diet
Springbok are primarily browsers, switching to grazing seasonally. At other times, they browse on shrubs and succulents. Springbok can meet their water needs from the food they eat, and survive without drinking water through dry season, or even over years. Reportedly, in extreme cases, they do not drink any water over the course of their lives. Springbok may accomplish this by selecting flowers, seeds, and leaves of shrubs before dawn, when these foods are most succulent.
Behavior
Springbok are mainly active around dawn and dusk. Activity is influenced by weather; springbok can feed at night in hot weather, and at midday in colder months. They rest in the shade of trees or bushes, and often bed down in the open when it is cooler. A feature unique to the springbok is pronking, in which the springbok performs multiple leaps into the air, up to 6.6 ft (2 m) above the ground, in a stiff-legged posture, with the back bowed and the white flap lifted. When the male shows off his strength to attract a mate, or to ward off predators, he starts off in a stiff-legged trot, leaping into the air with an arched back every few paces and lifting the flap along his back. Lifting the flap causes the long white hairs under the tail to stand up in a conspicuous fan shape, which in turn emits a strong scent of sweat. Although the exact cause of this behaviour is unknown, springbok exhibit this activity when they are nervous or otherwise excited. The most accepted theory for pronking is that it is a method to raise alarm against a potential predator or confuse it, or to get a better view of a concealed predator; it may also be used for display. Springbok are very fast antelopes, clocked at 55 mph (89 kmh). They generally tend to be ignored by carnivores unless they are breeding.
Hunting
Spot and stalk methods, and hunting over water sources.
Conservation Status
Listed as Least Concern by IUCN. This classification refers to the Springbok as a whole, rather than the Black Springbok.