Klipspringer

Klipspringer - The Amazing Tiny Antelope

Go Go Gadget Legs

These diminutive antelope are found on steep, rocky and well-drained hillsides. Averaging just half a metre tall, their compact bodies are incredibly adapted to the rigorous terrain. Balanced on the tips of their hooves, forming a nearly straight line from leg to foot, Klipspringer can group all four feet within a tight compass, landing and leaping from the most precipitous rock surfaces.

Typically only male Klipspringers bear short, spiky horns, although some populations in Tanzania, Karamoja and Ethiopia contain horned males and females. Klipspringers are selective feeders, with a diet consisting of grass, herbs, shrubs, bushes and lichens. Both males and females contribute to the frequently-used dung piles used to mark the boundaries of their territories. The Klipspringers also use their distinct preorbital glands for scent-marking, leaving black, tar-like deposits on trees, grass and rocks.

Not Quite a Red Cape, but Close

The Klipspringer's colouring varies from yellow or grey-freckled to brown depending on its geographical location. Its coat is highly unusual in that the hairs are brittle, coarse, and hollow through the length of the shaft- similar to that of the Himalayan mountain goat. Captain Cornwallis Harris described it as, "long, padded and standing out vertically from the side, it resembles moss in texture, and constitutes... a natural cushion to protect the animal from the contusions to which its habitat must render it constantly liable." Harris also praises the animal's fine venison and "the elastic hair is sought above all other materials for the stuffing of saddles." More modern ecologists theorise that the coat better serves as a thermo-regulating device for the extreme conditions of its lofty habitat, as the acrobatic Klipspringer is far too agile to require protection from falls and accidents.

Klipspringers are rarely solitary, preferring male-female, monogamous pairings- although it is also common to see two ewes accompanying a single ram. Often the second ewe is the yearling offspring of the bonded pair, as females tend to remain with their parents throughout their first year. Young rams usually leave their parents to form their own territory, although no aggression from either parent has been observed. If food becomes scarce during dry seasons, they may venture away from their home territories to more advantageous feeding areas, forming small temporary herds of up to ten animals

The Invisible Kid

The male Klipspringer will only court the female while she is in oestrus. He will follow the female closely, lifting the forelegs and making dominant postures towards her. Often they will participate in mutual grooming. Females are mounted intermittently during a unusually extended, week-long oestrus. Their seven month gestation is also unusually long for such a small antelope. Ewes calve in the solitude of a rocky crevice or deep brush, leaving their offspring in hiding and returning to nurse only about four times per day. The kids remain in hiding for two to three months, after which they accompany their parents in all activities.

The Bad Guys

Thanks to their inhospitable home ranges, many Klipspringer populations have survived despite clearing of habitat for livestock and surrounding cultivation. But because they are so exposed and their habits are so regular, particularly in dunging and feeding, these antelope are highly susceptible to hunting and snaring. Their natural predators are numerous, including Wild Dogs, Leopards, Caracals, Serval, Crowned Eagles, African Rock Pythons and particularly Chacma Baboons.

andBEYOND Hotspots for Klipspringers

These stocky little antelope are seen at Bongani, Londolozi, Klein's Camp and Kwandwe.

- Duncan Butchart -

Posted: Mammals by CC Africa, Date: 21 November 2006