Tuesday, June 26, 2018

152,000 Impalas

If you buy the Kruger Park Map and Animal Identification Booklet, you learn about how many of the different kinds of organisms inhabit the area.  It states that, "The Kruger National Park boasts approximately 147 mammal species, more than 507 bird species, 114 reptile species, over 49 fish species, 34 amphibian species, 227 butterfly species and 336 tree species."  The booklet lists 25 different animal counts, of which 152,000 are impalas. They supply much of the food for the carnivores such as lions (1620-1750), leopards (1000), and cheetahs (120) that live there among them.  We saw a lot of impalas, everywhere in the park.




These mid-sized antelopes are easy to identify with the black stripes on the rear, black scent glands on the back legs, and the lyre-shaped horns of the males.






You rarely see impalas by themselves, and they appear in either a group of females or a group of males.  Indeed, there is safety in numbers.












Often you see them with other animals: the noisier, the bigger, the better.















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