Antelopes

White White Antelope/Screwhorn Antelope(Addax Nasomaculatus)

An antelope is a member of a number of even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a wastebasket taxon (miscellaneous group) within the family Bovidae, encompassing those Old World species that are not cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, or goats; even so, antelope are generally more deer-like than other bovids. Unlike deer that renew their horns annually, the antelope has strong permanent horns, that antelope mainly use to defend their herd or to fight other antelopes.

Life Span

An antelope tends to get to between 8 and 10 years old in the wild although they have been known to live for longer when kept in captivity. Many antelope individuals however, wouldn't last into old age in the wild as antelope are a key target for many large carnivorous mammals. If the antelope was old then the antelope would naturally be slower at running from danger.

Nature Contribution

The antelope is one of the many medium-sized mammals holding the African food chain together. The antelope may only graze on grasses but it is a stable food source for many of Africa's large carnivorous predators, such as lions, hyenas, and crocodiles.

Behavior

The majority of antelopes reside in herds for protection. But living in herds will make it difficult for them to find food. So, some of them live in small groups, or alone. The senses are excellent and they are rapid runners and leap to escape from predators. They can run at 95 km per hour speed. But the desert species cannot run fast, as they have wide feet for easy movement on sand.

Defensive Behavior

Antelope display different defensive behaviors based on their size, habitat, number, and species. Large antelope that gather in large herds, such as wildebeest, rely on numbers and running speed for protection. In some species, adults will encircle the offspring, protecting them from predators when threatened.

The smaller solitary antelope tend to live in densely forested areas and these species of antelope defend themselves by hiding. The duiker antelopes get their name from this species ability to dive into the vegetation.

 Gazelle-sized antelope run and leap, and some species of antelope exhibit their unique behavior of pronking or stotting. Large antelope congregate in larger herds and can depend on running as group defense.

Habitats

Antelopes are not seen in Australasia, Antarctica, and America. The saiga species is the only one found in North America during the Pleistocene period. Africa has many species, while some are in Asia too. India has nilgai, blackbuck, four horned antelope and Tibetan antelope. Arabian Peninsula has the Dorcas gazelle and Arabian oryx. Saiga antelope and Tibetan antelopes are found in Russia and Central Asia.The antelope is found in a wide range of habitats, typically woodland, forest, savannah, grassland plains, and marshes.

Several species of antelope have adapted to living in the mountains and rocky outcrops, a few species of antelope have adapted to deserts (both hot and cold), and a couple of species of antelope are even semi-aquatic and these antelope live in swamps. The species that inhabit forests, bushes and woodland are sedentary, but the ones in the plains are migratory. They follow the rain to get food supply.

Classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chorz
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Genus:	Antilopinae

Life cycle and Life Style

The female antelopes give birth in a period of 4 to 9 months from their mating date and the breeding also depends on the species type. After mating, female antelopes give birth to a single calf or, more rarely, twins, after a gestation period that can last up to 8 months The calves are usually cleaned, given the feed and protected in a safe spot. The mother antelopes visit the calves regularly to clean and feed them. This is done so that the predators do not find the calves.

The calves remain motionless, hidden in the undergrowth when left alone. A mother and her newborn calf are vulnerable to predators, and antelopes have had to evolve different strategies for surviving this period. For most antelope species, the female gives birth in dense cover and leaves the calf while she feeds. The calf comes to its mother when she calls it, and once fed, the calf will hide away again.

Once in its hiding place, the calf remains completely still and will run away only if it is on the verge of being discovered.


5 Questions
1. What do Antelopes eat?
2. How many years can Antelopes live? 
3. What are the Antelopes taxon wastebasket of?
4. How long is the female antelope gestation process?
5. What happens if a Calf wasn't with it's mother at the early age?