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Antelope The antelope of Africa are extremely diverse, representing a huge family, the Bovidae. The patterns, shapes, and markings of this huge group can be so subtle that beginners and experts alike can have trouble telling them apart. Consider the almost bewildering assortment of names: bushbuck, steenbok, springbok, reedbuck, blesbok, waterbuck, dik- dik, kudu, topi, eland, and so on. A few, like the impala, gazelle, or African buffalo have familiar sounding names, while others, like the sitatunga, nyala, or oribi, might challenge the best of scrabble players. This variety of antelope reflects the many niches each species exploits. In the swamps and marshes of the Okavango, sitatungas travel on long, splayed hooves that prevent the antelope from sinking into the boggy terrain.

Migrating along with wildebeests, zebras are often the first animals to make a river crossing. This is one of the most dangerous times for zebras and wildebeests. In addition to the threat of drowning, both may meet crocodiles in the river and lions lying in ambush along the shoreline.

Two springbok males are dueling. This mid-size antelope gets its name from the high springing jumps, sometimes called stotting or pronking, it makes when danger is spotted.

Gunther’s dik-dik inhabits the arid regions of northern Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia. It differs from the similar-looking Kirk’s dik-dik by having an unusually long nose.

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