Impala
Aepyceros melampus
The Impala is a medium-sized antelope that roams the savannah. Male and females are very similar, but only the males have horns.
In the rainy season, when food is plentiful, Impala often gather in large herds of several hundred animals, to browse on grasses and herbs, bushes, shrubs, and shoots. Herds offer protection from predators, such as lions.
When predators are spotted by an alert individual, the Impala will bark out an alarm that sends the whole herd running. Impalas are fast runners, able to leap distances of up to 10 metres. They use this ability to escape predators, and sometimes, seemingly, just to amuse themselves.
Conservation
The Impala is one of the most hunted antelope in Africa. Poaching along the outskirts of protected areas (and even within), combined with unsustainable livestock farming and human encroachment, are threatening Impala populations.
- Species
- Impala
- Length
- 125-160 cm
- Height
- 75-90 cm
- Weight
- 40-80 kg
- Calf
- 1
- Range
- Eastern and southern Africa
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
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