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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
blesbok |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Artiodactyla |
| FAMILY: |
Bovidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Damaliscus
(heifer, young cow) dorcas (antelope) phillipsi
(scientific explorer) |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Medium-sized
antelope with copper brown fur and black spiral
horns |
|
| SIZE: |
85-100
cm (34-40 in) |
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| WEIGHT: |
|
| MALE |
65-80
kg (143-176 lbs) |
| FEMALE |
55-70
kg (121-154 lbs) |
|
| DIET: |
Grazers;
eating grass in sparse wooded areas |
|
| GESTATION: |
7.5-8
months; one young per birth; mating occurs between
April and June, with the subsequent calves being
born from November to February. Mothers do not leave
the herd to give birth. |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
2.5
years |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Up
to 17 years |
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| HABITAT: |
Highveld,
or higher elevation grasslands |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
No
data |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Lower
Risk/Conservation Dependent |
| CITES |
Subspecies
not listed |
| USFWS |
Subspecies,
bontebok is Endangered |
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|
| 1. |
The
common name is a derivative of the Afrikaans words
for blazed antelope, which is in reference to the
white blaze found on their face. |
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|
| 2. |
Smaller
relatives of the wildebeest, Blesbok populations
have rebounded after being hunted to near extinction
during the European colonization of southern Africa. |
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| 3. |
They
graze on medium to tall grasses and migrate to follow
the rains. Females give birth to usually a single
calf early in the summer. |
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| 4. |
Blesbok
calves differ from most other small or medium antelope
species by staying with their mothers instead of
hiding. |
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| By
eating grasses, Blesbok keep the grasslands trim,
spawning new growth. They are food for larger predators.
Their numbers suffer due to habitat loss and pelt
trade. In addition, encroachment and competition
with domestic livestock are a constant threat. |
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|
|
|
Estes,
R.D. The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching
African Mammals. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing
Co. 1993.
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| |
| Gotch,
A.F. Mammals-Their Latin Names Explained.
Poole, U.K.: Blandford Press Btd. 1979. |
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| Nowak,
Ronald M. Walker's Mammals of the World Fifth
Ed.. Vol. II. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press. 1991. |
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| Parker,
Sybil P. ed. Grzimeks Encyclopedia: Mammals.
Vol. 5. New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Co.
1990. |
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