Bontebok

The bontebok is a type of antelope that is mainly found in South Africa in the area of Lesotho. They weigh about 110 to 342 lbs, the males being slightly larger and more noticeable in appearance than the females. The animal is commonly chocolate brown in color and has a bright white stripe on the underside of its belly leading up to the tip of its nose. The horns are possibly the most fascinating part of the bontebok. The animal’s lyre-shaped horns can grow up to nearly half a meter in size, regardless of their sex.

The bontebok travels in herds of nearly 40- 70 animals, that are either all male, all female, or mixed. Older males commonly form territories and “face down” other male bonteboks to claim that said territory. “Face down” is a term for proving dominance between the male bonteboks. The animal roams around South Africa and a small country within South Africa, called Lesotho. Both areas have moderate temperatures with common occurrences of thunderstorms. The bontebok mates at all times of the year, no matter the season.

As for their diet, the antelope is a herbivore that only feeds on short grasses and other types of weeds. Jackals, caracals, and feral dogs are all predators to the bontebok. They commonly eat the younger animals which are known as lambs. Bonteboks were once killed because they were seen as pests, at one point there were only seventeen bonteboks left in the wild population. Since then the animal has been restored in population, ranging to be “least concerned” on the conservation status.