Klipspringer

Klipspringers are very interesting and captivating creatures to learn about. They are half antelope and half goat. They get their name from a Kiswahili language, and it means rock jumper. Klipspringers are very skilled when it comes to running or jumping on or over rocks. That is what makes it easier for them to escape predators. A klipspringer's predator includes leopards, caracals, eagles, spotted hyenas, jackals, and humans. They are hunted by humans mostly for the small horns on the top of their heads.

On the other hand, klipspringer's don't hunt animals, they are herbivores. Their diet consists of fruits, flowers, a verity of shrubs and herbs, but hardly ever eat grass. They have no need to drink water because the succulents they eat (another type of plant), provide them with enough water and nutrients to survive. Klipspringer's are mainly found in rocky mountain ranges or fynbos (vegetation only found on the Southern tip of Africa), and in woodlands. They can also be found in the Cape of Good Hope, which is another mountainous area in South Africa.

These animals like to form breeding pairs instead of herds, and are very close with their families. They are considered mature after one year of learning and living with their parents, but tend to live around them no matter how old they get. Klipspringers only give birth to one young at a time, after a gestation period of about seven months. Klipspringers can be many different colors. Some are yellow, brown, grey, or red. The female klipspringer, is most likely to weigh more than the male does. The females weigh about 29-35 pounds, where as the males weight about 19-26 pounds. They do share one thing, and that is their size length, which is 32 inches. These animals are very small, but being small makes is less noticeable for them to be spotted by other creatures and people. Klipspringers are very interesting animals to learn about and I hope I get to see one in South Africa.