Antelopes are a diverse group of mammals that belong to the family Bovidae. The antelope is one of the fastest land animals in the world.
Scientists say there are about 91 different subspecies of Antelopes in the globe. With its elegant, bounding leap, the antelope is an animal that roams the forests and plains of Africa and Asia, relying on its incredible speed and agility to elude the most fearsome predators.
Antelopes vary dramatically in size between the small royal antelope, which weighs a mere 4 pounds, and the truly gigantic eland, which weighs up to 1,800 pounds, or about as much as some cattle. The topi is perhaps the longest, reaching nearly 9 feet. Males tend to have larger bodies and horns than females, but in a few species, the females may lack horns altogether, or they will have smaller horns than the males.
Antelopes are revered for their visual acuity. They have horizontal pupils located on the side of the head that enable them to see predators coming from the periphery of their vision. The acute sense of smell also aids in communication.
The antelope’s horns are composed of keratin. This is the same substance found in nails, hair, claws, and hooves.
The horns of male antelopes are used for fighting and display and they keep the same horns for their entire lives instead of shedding them every year. The structure and shape of antelope horns vary widely. Some horns form spirals, others are curved, and yet others have ridges. Experts often distinguish antelope species based merely on the appearance of their horns.
Although very common and widespread, the animal still faces enormous dangers from excessive hunting and poaching.
They tend to congregate into large herds in which a dominant male will mate with multiple females.
The size of the herd can vary quite a bit. Some herds consist of no more than 10 or 20 individuals, while other antelopes have herds of thousands, which can make for quite the spectacle on the open plains. These herds may undertake large migrations during certain parts of the year in search of new food reservoirs and grazing land.
During reproduction, Antelopes pursue so many different courtship and mating rituals. Breeding strategies can vary between full monogamy and a dominant breeding pair within a herd. In other species, males compete with each other every season for the right to breed with females.
Once the female is impregnated, gestation lasts between four and nine months. The mother produces only a single calf at a time, while twins are relatively rare. Because the calf is highly vulnerable at birth, they generally have two different strategies to protect the young. One, the calf is jiddeny in a concealed location, while the mother rejoins the herd or hunts on its own.
In the second strategy, the calf is expected to begin traveling immediately with the herd from almost the moment it is born. In exchange, the herd provides additional protection for the young calf.
The age of maturity varies widely between species. Some of these animal species come of age in as little as six months. Some take as long as eight years to fully develop. Females usually mature faster than males on average. Lifespan likewise can vary between three years and 28 years based on the species.
Hausa calls it “Barewa, Igbos call it “Mgbada”, while the Yorubas call it “Ìgalà, Àgbọnrín.”
Antelopes pay key roles in ecosystems as part of the food chain, consuming plant matter and in turn being prey for a variety of animals, including lions, etc.
Why Antelope Lives In the Bush
It is said that the Antelope and Goat once shared a home with an owner in the village. But the Antelope ran into the bush because of beatings.
According to the folktale, while they were being tamed, Antelope and Goat were told not to tamper with their owner’s food supply. Goat and Antelope were herbivores, so they were only expected to eat grass.
But each time their owner or his wife returned from the farm with yams or vegetables, Goat and Antelope would leave for the farm and eat the food that had grown there. When their owner and his wife returned to the farm and found that the food there had been eaten, they became angry, and warned Antelope and Goat not to repeat their actions.
One day, the owner’s wife went to the farm and came home with the only tuber of yam left in the barn. She had put her pot on the stove in the kitchen, and had carried the tuber of yam on a tray.
Intending to peel the yam, she placed the tray on the ground and remembered that she had left her knife inside the house. Immediately, she went back to retrieve it, the Goat ate the yam.
“Oh, no!” she cried. She took her cane and immediately began to flog Goat.
As she was flogging Goat, Antelope came in and saw how her friend was being treated.
She and Goat pleaded for forgiveness, and their master’s wife heeded after she struck Goat in the back.
Antelope sympathized with Goat, retrieved some herbs, and treated her.
Another evening, Antelope roamed the back of the house and found vegetables sitting on the tray. Quickly, she began to eat them. When the owner’s wife discovered Antelope, she flogged him to a state of stupor. Antelope was weeping when Goat came into the house.
“What’s the matter?” Goat asked. “We cannot survive on grass and tuber peals alone, sometimes we also need part of what they eat. If they refuse to share their food with us, then we shall take what we find.”
“I cannot do that. How long am I going to receive these insults?” Antelope asked.
“Well, I am ready to take these insults as long as I live,” Goat replied.
One morning, their master’s wife boiled a pot of water to cook beans for her family. She had used a sieve to separate the beans from the stones. Suddenly, it began to rain, and the wife went to retrieve some bowls in order to collect rainwater.
It was said that as soon as she left, Goat and Antelope entered the kitchen and devoured the beans. When the wife discovered this, she told the owner of the incident, and both began to beat Goat and Antelope like they had never done before.
The beatings were so severe that Goat and Antelope had to be taken to the neighboring village for treatment. After they recovered and returned home, Antelope decided that she couldn’t bear the beatings anymore. Goat pleaded with her to bear the pain. She knew she had to bear the pain to survive, but Antelope refused goat’s plea because she knew she could survive in the bush without their tamers.
Once again, Goat and Antelope ate their owners’ yam, and were threatened with another beating. Before the owners managed to act, Antelope told Goat that she could not stand another punishment, and ran away and since then, continued to love in the forest.