Interesting things about antelopes

April 15, 2012 | In: Animal facts for kids

The Antelopes are mainly African savannah animals that vary greatly in size, but all of them have horns and hooves. An antelope’s horns are made of keratin and are permanently attached unlike a deer’s antlers. There are many species of antelopes, all very interesting indeed, but in this article I’d like to talk about the most common:

The Bongo- a large antelope with a reddish-brown coat with narrow white stripes. Its horns curve backward, spiraling slightly, and can reach35 inches(90 cm);

The Eland- the world’s largest antelope. Elands are fawn-colored, with white vertical stripes on their bodies.  It has spiraled horns, which may be more than three feet (90 cm) long. They can reach a bodyweight of2200 pounds(1000 kg);

The Gazelle- A little antelope that surprises us with its speed and huge eyes. Gazelles are fawn-colored to reddish, with white or dark markings. In most species both males and females have horns.

The Gnu, or African Antelope- an adult gnu has about four feet (1.2 m) high at the shoulder and weighs 300 to500 pounds(135 to225 kg). Both males and females have two large, heavy, U-shaped horns. Like other antelopes gnus have cloven hooves. They inhabit open grassland, feeding on grass and leaves.

The Impala- Impala, a small African antelope. The impala measures about3 feet(90 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs about150 pounds(68 kg). It is reddish brown above, white beneath.

The Kudu, or Koodoo- one of the largest and most impressive of all antelopes, is known as the antelope king. A mature male is about five feet (1.5m) high at the shoulder. Its spiraled horns may reach five feet in length.

But did you know that the Elk is also an antelope. Funny, eh? But I guess we’ll talk about it some other time.