when the first green f lush appears in localized areas. In the past,
mass migrations numbering hundreds of thousands of animals
were documented. Social groupings consist of bachelor herds,
territorial males and breeding herds consisting of adults and
juveniles of both sexes. Males attain territorial status at the age
of about 3 to 3½ years and can maintain this status for 6 to 20
months. A territorial ram demonstrates his status by urinating
and then defecating on top of the urine to form middens at stra-
tegic points in his territory. A low back posture, with the belly
held close to the ground, is adopted when urinating and defecat-
ing for territorial marking and may be preceded by pawing of
the ground. Dominant males may also thrash at low bushes with
their horns to the extent that they are sometimes stained green.
They prefer open territorial areas and also like to make
themselves prominent. They attempt to keep breeding females
in their areas by actively herding them. When doing this the
tail of the dominant ram is held horizontally or even vertically
when very excited. Springbok have two periods of peak activity
- early morning and late afternoon. They can also remain fairly
active during the night. They do not look for shade during the
heat of the day to the extent that other species do. They move
slowly while grazing but can run up to speeds of 88 km per hour
if disturbed or chased. The tail of the springbok is in constant
motion, switching back and forth. The more excited they are,
the more the tail moves. Springbok are not very vocal. Two calls
which have been identified are a low communicating grunt and
a whistling snort of alarm.
Preferred habitat
Springbok are typically associated with dry, arid areas and open
grass plains (Figure 2). In parts of Botswana and in the Kalahari
they are often found associated with pans and dry riverbeds.
Factors which inf luence their choice of habitat include availabil-
ity of their preferred food plants, their mineral content, and the
height and density of the vegetation. They avoid mountainous
areas and rocky outcrops, dense woodland and high grass.
Figure 1: Springbok males (rams) – bottom and a female
(ewe) – top. The coloration is much the same, but the female
has a slightly smaller body and more slender horns.Figure 2: Springbok in typical open habitat.