Klipspringer

About the klipspringer

The klipspringer is a small antelope native to eastern and southern Africa, and the sole living member of its genus and subfamily. It was first described by German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1783. Its name comes from the Afrikaans words klip, "rock," and springer, "leaper," a fitting description for an animal built to move over cliffs and boulders. Another local name for it is "klipbok."

Physically, the klipspringer is small and sturdy, standing 43 to 60 cm (17 to 23.5 in) at the shoulder, with a head-and-body length of 75 to 115 cm (30 to 45 in) and a weight of 8 to 18 kg (18 to 40 lb); females run slightly larger and heavier than males. The tail measures just 6.5 to 10.5 cm (2.5 to 4.25 in). Distinctive facial features include a brown forehead, short ears marked with black, prominent glands near the eyes, and white lips and chin. Only males carry horns, which are short and spiky, typically 7.5 to 9 cm (3 to 3.5 in) long, with the longest ever recorded reaching 15.9 cm (6.25 in). The coat ranges from yellowish gray to reddish brown, with a white underbelly, and acts as effective camouflage against rock. Unlike most other antelopes, the klipspringer's coat is thick and coarse, made of hollow, brittle hairs; this unusual coat cushions the animal during steep falls and insulates it against the extreme temperature swings of its mountain habitat. Coat color varies by subspecies, running from golden yellow in the Cape, Ethiopian, golden, and Transvaal klipspringer to ochre or rufous in the Maasai, Stevenson's, and Zambian klipspringer. One of the klipspringer's most distinctive traits is its gait: it walks on the tips of its cylindrical, blunt hooves, a design that improves grip and lets it climb and jump confidently across rocky ground.

Behavior and diet

The klipspringer is typically nocturnal, resting through the middle of the day and late at night, and it is more active on moonlit nights; it basks in the morning sun to warm itself. It is unusually monogamous for an antelope, with males and females forming pairs that can last until one partner dies. Mates typically stay within about 5 m (16 ft) of one another, taking turns watching for predators while the other feeds and facing danger together. Beyond pairs, klipspringer also live in small family herds of eight or more, or singly. Individuals greet each other by rubbing cheeks. Males hold territories of 7.5 to 49 hectares (18.5 to 121 acres), sized according to local rainfall, where they stay with their mate and offspring; males mark territory boundaries with large dung heaps and with a dark secretion from glands near the eyes, deposited on vegetation and rocks. The species' main call is a shrill whistle, given as a duet by a pair, used both for communication and as a response to predators. Recorded predators include the yellow baboon, black-backed jackal, caracal, crowned eagle, leopard, martial eagle, serval, spotted hyena, and Verreaux's eagle.

The klipspringer is primarily a browser, favoring young plants, fruits, and flowers, with grasses making up only a minor part of the diet, eaten mostly in the wet season. It relies mainly on succulent plants rather than standing water to meet its water needs, and it can stand on its hind legs to reach branches up to 1.2 m (4 ft) off the ground; some individuals in Namibia have even been seen climbing trees up to 5.4 m (17.75 ft) high.

Breeding is seasonal, with timing varying by location. Females mature sexually by about a year old, males slightly later. Gestation lasts around six months and produces a single calf, weighing just over 1 kg (2 lb), with births peaking from spring to early summer and taking place in dense vegetation. The mother hides the calf carefully for up to three months to protect it from predators, nursing it three to four times a day and gradually lengthening the visits as it grows; males stay watchful for threats to their offspring during this period. The calf is weaned at four to five months and leaves its mother at around a year old. The klipspringer lives for roughly 15 years.

Range and habitat

The klipspringer occupies rocky terrain with sparse vegetation across eastern and southern Africa, from northeastern Sudan, Eritrea, Somaliland, and Ethiopia in the east to South Africa in the south, with additional populations along coastal Angola and Namibia. Smaller populations occur in the northern and western highlands of the Central African Republic, southeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, and parts of Nigeria, and the species is feared extinct in Burundi. It can live at altitudes as high as 4,500 m (15,000 ft), as on Mount Kilimanjaro, and moves to lower ground when food becomes scarce. Because its rocky habitat is often broken up by stretches of grassy terrain, population density is typically low, between 0.01 and 0.1 individuals per square kilometer, though favorable areas such as Ethiopia's Simien Mountains National Park can support 10 to 14 individuals per square kilometer.

Conservation status

The klipspringer is listed as Least Concern (LC). No major threats to its survival are recorded, largely because its rocky habitat is difficult to access and poorly suited to hunting, and it does not have to compete with livestock, which tend to avoid montane terrain. It is hunted in some areas for its meat, leather, and hair, and populations at lower altitudes are described as more vulnerable than those higher up. A 1999 estimate put the total population at around 42,000 animals, with significant numbers on private farmland; as of 2008, about 25 percent of the population occurred within protected areas, including Ethiopia's Simien and Bale Mountains National Parks, Kenya's Tsavo East and West National Parks, Zambia's North and South Luangwa National Parks, Malawi's Nyika National Park, Namibia's Namib-Naukluft National Park, and Zimbabwe's Matobo National Park.