antelope - Physical characteristics, Behaviour, Species, Hybrid antelope, Cultural aspects

A hoofed mammal, found mainly in Africa; classified as gazelles (tribe: Antilopini), four-horned antelopes (tribe: Boselaphini), spiral-horned antelopes (tribe: Strepsicerotini), dwarf (or pygmy) antelopes (tribe: Neotragini), grazing antelopes (subfamily: Hippotraginae, including horse-like antelopes of the tribe Hippotragini, and ox-antelopes of the tribe Alcelaphini), pronghorns (subfamily: Antilocaprinae), duikers (subfamily: Cephalophinae), and goat antelopes (subfamily: Caprinae, which includes goats and sheep). (Family: Bovidae, 116 species.)

iAntelope
impala
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae
Genera
Aepyceros Alcelaphus Antidorcas Antilope Cephalophus Connochaetes Damaliscus Gazella Hippotragus Kobus Madoqua Neotragus Oreotragus Oryx Ourebia Pantholops Procapra Sylvicapra Taurotragus Tragelaphus and others

Antelopes are a polyphyletic group of herbivorous African and Asian animals of the family Bovidae, distinguished by a pair of hollow horns on their heads. There are many different species of antelope, ranging in size from the tiny royal antelope to the giant eland. Some species of antelope can reach speeds of 60 miles (100 kilometers) per hour, making them among the fastest of land animals.

Physical characteristics

Apart from basic characteristics, antelopes differ from each other in appearance and physiology almost as much as they differ from other members of the cattle, goat, and sheep family. For example, the common eland towers over most breeds of domestic cattle and can be 300 times heavier than the tiny royal antelope.

All antelopes have long, slender legs and powerful muscles where the upper legs meet the body, providing leverage and increasing leg stride and speed. The gerenuk, another African species, is one of the few antelopes that habitually stands on its back legs.

Antelopes bear a dense coat with short fur.

Antelopes are ruminants.

Antelopes rely on their keen senses to avoid predators.

Both sexes of most antelope species grow horns, though the males' horns are generally larger. Antelope horns are almost always slightly curved, although in some species such as the blackbuck, they are shaped like a pair of corkscrews spiraling out in opposite directions.

Antelope life spans are hard to determine, and most known figures relate only to those in captivity.

Behaviour

Unlike carnivores and primates, herbivores such as the antelope are not noted for high intelligence.

The antelope's choice to flee is based largely on the type of predator and its distance from the herd.

Antelopes communicate with each other using a varied array of sounds. When excited or alarmed, most medium-sized species of antelope bounce up and down on all four legs, keeping them stretched out straight.

Antelopes also use scent signals to communicate;

Antelope species common to forests tend to stay in the same place all their lives, but species that live out in the open often migrate to feed and breed.

Species

There are about 90 species of antelope in about 30 genera, of which about 15 species are endangered. These include:

addax bluebuck bongo bontebok common eland dik-dik duiker

gazelle gemsbok hartebeest impala klipspringer kudu nyala

oribi oryx Grey Rhebok roan antelope royal antelope sable antelope springbok

suni tibetan antelope topi waterbuck wildebeest zeren

Blackbuck antelope have been imported into the United States, primarily for the purpose of "exotic game hunts," common and popular in Texas. The Mongolian gazelle or zeren (Procapra gutturosa), sometimes classified as an antelope, can run with a speed of 80 km/h (50 mph). Suni are small antelope that live in south-eastern Africa.

Antelope are not a cladistic group in and of themselves, but rather are considered a miscellaneous group.

Hybrid antelope

A wide variety of antelope hybrids have been recorded in zoos. The ease of hybridization shows how closely related some antelope species are. In the early 1900s, the London Zoological Society hybridized several antelope species, including the water-bucks Kobus ellipsiprymnus and Kobus unctuosus, and the selouss antelope Limnotragus seloussi with Limnotragus gratus.

Listed antelope hybrids include:

Bongo Bongo (antelope)/Sitatunga Lesser Kudu/Sitatunga Eland/Greater Kudu Blue Duiker/Maxwell's Duiker Bay Duiker/Red-flanked Duiker Bay duiker/Zebra duiker Black duiker/Kaffir Duiker Cape hartebeest/Blesbok Bontebok/Blesbok Black Wildebeest/Blue Wildebeest Common Waterbuck/Defassa waterbuck Defassa waterbuck/Nile lechwe Defassa waterbuck/Kob Nile Lechwe/Kob Kafue Lechwe/Ellipsen waterbuck Red-fronted Gazelle/Thomson's Gazelle East African Oryx or Beisa oryx/Fringe-eared oryx Grant's Gazelle/Thomson's gazelle Beisa oryx/Gemsbok Arabian Oryx/Scimitar Oryx or Scimitar-horned oryx Thomson's gazelle/Roosevelt's gazelle Slender-horned gazelle/Goitered Gazelle or Persian goitered gazelle Goitered Gazelle or Persian gazelle/Blackbuck Cuvier's Gazelle/Slender-horned gazelle

Cultural aspects

The antelope's horn is prized for its medicinal and magical powers in many places. The antelope's ability to run swiftly has also led to its association with the wind, such as in the Rig Veda where antelopes are the steeds of the Maruts and the wind god Vaya.

In Fez, Morocco, leather made from the hide of the antelope was used to manufacture Adargas, shields used in battle.