Dictionary:

klipspringer

  (klĭp'sprĭng'ər)

A small agile African antelope (Oreotragus oreotragus) having large ears.

[Afrikaans : klip, cliff (from Middle Dutch klippe) + springer, jumper (from springen, to leap, from Middle Dutch).]

Oreotragus oreotragus

TAXONOMY

Antilope oreotragus (Zimmermann, 1783), Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. Eleven proposed subspecies.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Oreotrague; German: Klippspringer.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Small, compact antelope with rounded hindquarters and blunt muzzle. Walks on tips of extended hooves. Length 32–39 in (82–100 cm); height 18–24 in (45–60 cm); weight 20–35 lb (9–16 kg). Fur is coarse, hollow, and tawny to gray in appearance. Underside and ear linings light gray to white. Horns straight and annulated in males, up to 6 in (15 cm) in length, though typically no longer than 3.5 in (9 cm). Unique among Neotraginae, females of some populations are horned.

DISTRIBUTION

Patchily distributed in rocky and mountainous terrain from northern Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, south through Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania into central and southern Africa. The largest populations today occur in Namibia.

HABITAT

Rocky hillsides, cliffs, and ravines from sea level to 14,800 ft (4,500 m) and at a broad range of temperature and rainfall regimes. Vegetation type is considerably less important than access to steep, rocky slopes for escape and cover. Occur at densities up to 36 per mi² (14 per km²) in ideal habitats, but more often seen at densities of 0.3–0.8 per mi² (0.1–0.3 per km²).

BEHAVIOR

Nimble and fast, supremely adapted for life in rocky terrain. Fiercely territorial, territory boundaries are scent marked routinely by all family members by placing feces, urine, and preorbital gland secretions in highly visible areas. Physical aggression exhibited as fights and chases are common and occur between both sexes. Bonds between monogamous pairs are strong and often last years. Vigilance is shared among group members and they signal the approach of a predator with an alarm whistle.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Selective browsers, prefer leaves, buds, flowers, fruits, and seeds with high-protein, low-fiber content. Up to 90% of diet consists of fruit and flowers in wet season, while leaves of shrubs, trees, and sometimes grasses form larger portion of diet in dry seasons. Will leave the safety of rocky terrain to feed or drink during harshest times of the year.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

The typical breeding group is a male-female pair on a territory 3.5–22 acres (1.4–9 ha) in size. Monagamous pairs are sometimes joined in a territory by one or two un-dispersed offspring. Estrus is thought to last roughly one week and gestation is estimated at five months, after which one lamb is born. Newborns lay hidden for up to three months before joining parents and are weaned at four months. Seasonality of reproduction varies across the broad geographic range of this species, but is generally coordinated with rainy seasons.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Lower Risk/Conservation Dependent. Their preference for steep, rocky habitats and their ability to detect and avoid predators (human or otherwise) has allowed this species to avoid the common pitfalls of habitat loss and over hunting. However, the subspecies O. o. porteousi represents an exception and is classed as Endangered where it occurs in Nigeria and the Central African Republic. Predictable routes of travel by animals also makes snaring an effective and potentially devastating form of hunting.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

Sturdiness and agility have made it a popular mascot and hero in traditional and modern African folklore. It has little economic value through much of its geographic range and its meat is not generally preferred. It comprises a relatively small part of the bushmeat trade in Nigeria.

Klipspringer
Conservation status
Conservation Dependent
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Genus: Oreotragus A. Smith, 1834 Species: O. oreotragus
Binomial name
Oreotragus oreotragus (Zimmerman, 1783)

The Klipspringer (literally "rock jumper" in Afrikaans), Oreotragus oreotragus, also known colloquially as a mvundla (from Xhosa "umvundla", meaning "rabbit"), is a small African antelope that lives from the Cape of Good Hope all the way up East Africa and into Ethiopia.

A pair of Klipspringers

Reaching approximately 58cm (22 inches) at the shoulder, Klipspringers are relatively small animals compared to some of their larger antelope cousins. Only the males have horns that are usually about 20-25cm (4-6 inches) long. They stand on the tips of their hooves. They have such small feet that all four of its hooves can fit on an American dime at one time.

With a thick and dense speckled "salt and pepper" patterned coat of an almost olive shade, Klipspringers blend in well with the koppies (rock outcrops, pronounced "copies") on which they can usually be found.

Klipspringers are herbivores, eating rock plants. They never need to drink, since the succulents they subsist on provide them with enough water to survive.

The mating season for Klipspringers is from September through to January. The gestation period is about 214 days.

Klipspringer (male)

References

• Antelope Specialist Group (1996). Oreotragus oreotragus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.

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