A slender, fast antelope of the dry south-west of Africa, with a white face, a dark stripe from eye to mouth and a reddish-brown band along each flank. It lives in herds, feeds mainly at dawn and dusk, and is the national animal of South Africa.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?No, herbivore
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?Yes
Hunted as game and farmed; springbok meat is sold in South African supermarkets and exported.
At a glance
Found inAfrica
HabitatDesert, Grassland, Scrub
ColoursTan, White, Brown
SizeMedium
Length1.2–1.5 m (head and body)
Height71–86 cm at the shoulder
Weight27–42 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives inherds
Lives for7–10 years
In the wild
- Where it lives
- South and south-west Africa: north-west South Africa, the Kalahari, Namibia, Botswana and south-west Angola.
- What it eats
- Shrubs and succulents, plus grasses when green. It gets its water from juicy plants and can go without drinking for years.
- Conservation
- Least Concern (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Pronks two metres into the air with its back arched, which is where the name comes from.
Clocked at 88 km/h (55 mph).
In extreme cases a springbok may never drink water in its whole life, eating flowers, seeds and leaves before dawn when they are juiciest.
Often confused with
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