Klipspringer

From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids

Klipspringer Conservation status: Conservation dependent (LR/cd)
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 Klipspringer

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 fragile horns that are usually about 20-25cm (4-6 inches) long. They stand on the tips of their hooves..

With a thick and dense speckled "salt and pepper" patterened coat of an almost olive shade, Klipspringers blend in well with the koppies (rock outcrops) 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)

[edit] References

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