Photo. Two antillopes fight in Kenya for getting access to the females. They take what they want when they have proved their strength. © Britt Myhrer.
In grasslands and savannahs in Kenya, Tanzania and other African countries there are a great number of species of antelopes. Native antelope can also be found in Asia and India.
One of the most famous and fastest spiecy antelope is the Gazelles. They are mostly found in the grasslands and savannas of Africa, but they are also found in southwest Asia. They tend to live in herds and will eat less coarse, easily digestible plants and leaves.
Both sexes of most antelope species grow horns, though the males' horns are generally larger. The dik-dik and klipspringer, two species where the male mates with only one female, have horns that are little more than spikes. However, in species where males compete to mate with several females, horns may grow as long as 1.5 m (5 ft.).
There are many different species of antelope, ranging in size from the tiny royal antelope to the giant eland. All antelopes have long, slender legs and powerful muscles where the upper legs meet the body, providing leverage and increasing leg stride and speed. Some species of antelope can reach speeds of 100 kilometers per hour, making them among the fastest of land animals. Antelopes are extremely good jumpers.
A power struggle
The fights about females can turn pretty wild. It looks very violent when you see two agressive males turning against each other. Each specify of animal has their own way to fight. So have the antelopes. The males are aggressive, especially during the breeding period.
Many antelopes have developed ways of fighting so they can achieve dominance without getting serious injuries, but of course there is always a risk. If the big and sharp horns hit an antelope, the consequences could be fatal. With their stout horns, short, strong neck and heavily muscled shoulders, they can stand hard fights without getting too much injured.
The fights turn to be intensive with wide active moments around on the ground. There are series of quick head movements, wild jumping, body stances, and hard clashing of horns against each others. It could be very fascinating and also freighting to observe the fight. You always fear the worst: some of the fighters would be speared by the others horns. When there is a winner, one male may leave from the herd and territory. The fighting is both about the territory and the females.
According to Wikipedia, in the Arab tradition, imitated by other Muslim cultures, the harîm ÍÑíã (compare haram) is the part of the household forbidden to male strangers. In the way antelopes live, harem is a very matching description.
When the legendary Italian womanizer, Don Juan, used flirt, charm and sedating technique to attract the women, the antelope males attract females by proving their strength. As the world famous pop group sings, The Winners Take It All. In the wild African world there is the only which counts!
Stein Morten Lund, 22 August 2006
Read more about wildlife on Travel Explorations.
There are about 90 species of antelope in about 30 genera, of which about 15 species are endangered (source: Wikipedia). These include:
addax
bluebuck
bongo
bontebok
common eland
dik-dik
duiker
gazelle
gemsbok
hartebeest
impala
klipspringer
kudu
nyala
oribi
oryx
Grey Rhebok
roan antelope
royal antelope
sable antelope
springbok
suni
tibetan antelope
topi
waterbuck
wildebeest
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