The Cape or southern grysbok (''Raphicerus melanotis'') is a small
antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
that is endemic to the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...
region of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
between
Albany and the
Cederberg mountains
The Cederberg mountains are located near Clanwilliam, approximately 300 km north of Cape Town, South Africa at about . The mountain range is named after the endangered Clanwilliam cedar (''Widdringtonia wallichii''), which is a tree end ...
.
Description
left, Illustrated in ''The Book of Antelopes'' (1894)
It has a rough, reddish sandy coat flecked in white. The head, neck and legs are less flecked and somewhat yellowish, while the inside of the ears, eye-rings, mouth area, throat and underside are white. There is a black "bridge" to the nose and a dark scent gland in front of the eye. It stands only 21" (45–55 cm) at the shoulder and weighs slightly more than 20 pounds (8–12 kg). The short tail of the Cape grysbok measures 4 to 8 cm and is almost invisible. Males have short, sharp and straight
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
about 8 cm long, which are smooth. The Cape grysbok can fluff out the fur at its rear end to make itself look bigger.
Habitat
The Cape grysbok's native habitat is the "
Fynbos
Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...
biome" (Cape Floristic Region), and it inhabits thick shrubland. It can sometimes be found browsing orchards and vineyards. In the Cape Peninsula the grysbok can be found in urban edges close to human activity. It may also be found in reed beds and along the riverbed of the southern
Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...
.
Habits
The Cape grysbok is probably territorial as sightings are mostly of individual animals. It is a browser. It can apparently go without drinking water for long periods, gaining most of its requirements from its food. It is primarily nocturnal, though it may be seen during early morning and late evening during the southern winter. Like Sharpe's grysbok they use a communal latrine and mark plants in its vicinity with secretions from their pre-orbital glands. It defends itself by jumping forward toward its target then running away.
Breeding
Lambs are born in the southern summer after a
gestation period
In mammals, pregnancy is the period of reproduction during which a female carries one or more live offspring from implantation in the uterus through gestation. It begins when a fertilized zygote implants in the female's uterus, and ends once it ...
of about 6 months. They stay hidden and grow fast.
Similar species
The similar
Sharpe's grysbok
Sharpe's or northern grysbok (''Raphicerus sharpei'') is a small, shy, solitary antelope that is found from tropical to south-eastern Africa.
Range
They are found in the Transvaal (South Africa), the Caprivi Strip (Namibia), Botswana, Mozambique ...
(''Raphicerus sharpei'') can be found in south-eastern Africa. The primary physical difference between the two grysboks is that Sharpe's has a pair of "false hooves" above the fetlocks.
Notes
References
* Kingdon, Jonathan. 1997. ''The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals''. Academic Press, San Diego & London. pp. 386–387. ()
External links
Photo of a Cape Grysbok
{{Taxonbar, from=Q756196
Endemic fauna of South Africa
Dwarf antelopes
Mammals of South Africa
Mammals described in 1811