| Bontebok | |
|---|---|
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| Bontebok inBontebok National Park,South Africa. | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Alcelaphinae |
| Genus: | Damaliscus |
| Species: | D. pygargus |
| Binomial name | |
| Damaliscus pygargus (Pallas, 1767) | |
| Subspecies | |
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Thebontebok (Damaliscus pygargus) is anantelope found inSouth Africa,Lesotho andNamibia.D. pygargus has twosubspecies; thenominate subspecies (D. p. pygargus),[3] occurring naturally in theFynbos and Renosterveld areas of the Western Cape, and theblesbok (D. p. phillipsi) occurring in theHighveld.
The bontebok is related to thecommon tsessebe.
The bontebok is a tall, medium-sized antelope. They typically stand 80 to 100 cm (31 to 39 in) high at the shoulder and measure 120 to 160 cm (47 to 63 in) along the head and body. The tail can range from 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 in). Body mass can vary from 50 to 68 kg (110 to 150 lb). Males are slightly larger and noticeably heavier than females.[4] The bontebok is a chocolate brown colour, with a white underside and a white stripe from the forehead to the tip of the nose, although there is a brown stripe across the white near the eyes in most blesbok. The bontebok also has a distinctive white patch around its tail (hence the Latin name), while this patch is light brown/tan in the blesbok. The horns of the bontebok are lyre-shaped and clearly ringed. They are found in both sexes and can reach a length of half a metre.
Blesbok live in the Highveld, where they eat shortgrasses, while bontebok are restricted to the coastal Fynbos and the Renosterveld.[5] They arediurnal, though they rest during the heat of the day. Herds may contain only males, only females, or be mixed, and do not exceed 40 animals for bontebok or 70 for blesbok.
Bontebok are not good jumpers,[6] but they are very good at crawling under things.[citation needed] Mature males form territories and face down other males in displays and occasionally fight them.
Bontebok were once extensively killed aspests, and by the early 20th century were reduced to a wild population of less than 70 individuals.[7]
Piet Grobler, in his capacity as Minister of Lands, commissionedDeneys Reitz to investigate measures to preserve the species. Reitz identified a tract of land in the direct ofBredasdorp where with help of Alexander van der Bijl and other farmers, 16 or 17 Bontebok were corralled the remaining individuals into a fence, which they were unable to jump out of.[8]
In 1931, this herd of 17 was transferred toBontebok National Park, which was established for the explicit purpose of conservation of the species. By the time the park was relocated to better suit the needs of the bontebok in 1961, the herd had grown to 61 members. Today, their population is estimated to range from 2,500 to 3,000, all descendants of the original herd of 17 members.[6]
While Bontebok are extinct in their naturalhabitat, they have increased in population to the point where they are now very abundant and avidlyfarmed, because they are popularquarry for hunters and are easy to sustain.
The bontebok is the provincial animal ofWestern Cape.[9]
