"Mating Season" watercolour on Bockingford 150gsm watercolour paper - Maree©
Here in South Africa, we are blessed with these lovely little buck called Springbok (Springbuck) and they differ from Impala in that their horns are shorter and they have a slightly different colouration. Spring and summer spawns many fights over females and I caught these two on camera during one of our visits to the Kruger National Park, sparring over the prettiest lady in the herd.
The Springbok, Antidorcas marsupialis, is the Southern African representative of the gazelle group of animals. It is only found in Southern Africa on the central plains, where it flourishes on the grassveld, despite the aridity. Male and female springboks have horns, are handsomely marked and are particularly distinguished by a dorsal fan.
Springbok are known to leap up to 4 m (13 ft) in the air in an activity known as pronking. While in the air their body is curved, and their legs are stiff, close together and point downwards. Upon landing they immediately leap upwards again and during this period the crest on their back is raised. It is unknown why they pronk but it is possible they do it to indicate to predators that they have been spotted. A bit of a stupid activity, as it actually slows them down and can make it easier for a predator to catch them.
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Springboks 'pronking'
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I just love the word 'pronking'
ReplyDeleteWhen they bounce up and down it looks as though they must have bed springs for legs.
So do I John, it's a word that just cannot be translated into any other language! And you must see them pronking in real life, it's hard to believe those spindly little legs can stand that strain!
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