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The Bontebok is an antelope found in South
Africa and Lesotho. The Bontebok has two subspecies;
the Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygargus),
occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld
areas of the Western Cape, and the Blesbok (Damaliscus
pygargus phillipsi) occurring in the highveld.
The Bontebok stands 80 to 100 centimetres at the
shoulder and weighs 50 to 90 kilograms. 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. Bontebok
also has a distinctive white patch around its tail
(whence the latin name), while this patch is light
brown/tan in Blesbok. The horns of Bontebok are
lyre-shaped and clearly ringed they are found in
both sexes and can reach a length of half a metre.
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Blesbok live in highveld where they eat
short grasses, while Bontebok are restricted
to coastal Fynbos and Renosterveld. They are
diurnal, though they rest during the heat of
the day. Herds contain only males, only
females or are mixed and do not exceed forty
animals for Bonteboks or seventy for
Blesboks.
Bontebok are not good jumpers but they
are very good at crawling under things.
Mature males form territories and face down
other males in displays and occasionally
combat.
 Bontebok
were killed as pests and were reduced to
seventeen animals in the wild but have
recovered. Blesbok are extinct in their
natural habitat but they have increased in
population to the point where they are now
farmed.
Copyright
This article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation Licence. It uses material
from the Wikipedia article "Bontebok"
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