Black heel antelope

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Black heel antelope
Male black heel antelope

Male black heel antelope

Systematics
Subordination : Ruminants (ruminantia)
Family : Horned Bearers (Bovidae)
Subfamily : Antilopinae
Tribe : Aepycerotini
Genre : Impalas ( Aepyceros )
Type : Black heel antelope
Scientific name
Aepyceros melampus
( Lichtenstein , 1812)

The black-heeled antelope or impala ( Aepyceros melampus ) is a species from the genus Impalas within the horned bearer family . It occurs in eastern and southern Africa , where it predominantly inhabits open savannah landscapes and bush areas. It is a medium-sized antelope . Special characteristics can be found in the graceful physique with slim limbs and straight back as well as in the black fur markings on the hind feet, the latter characteristic justifies the German trivial name . Horns are also only worn by male individuals. The animals live in a complex social system. Females form herds together with their offspring, the size of which varies regionally. Male animals live in bachelor groups or sometimes mix with the herds. Dominant males show territorial behavior especially during the reproductive phase and establish their own territories . They then fight for the mating privilege. As a rule, a female gives birth to a young; the births are partly synchronized within a group and region. Raising takes place in the herd, but initially the mother hides the newborn from the group in phases. The diet consists of harder grasses and softer leaves and twigs . The respective composition depends on the seasonal availability. The species was scientifically introduced in 1812. It was sometimes considered the only representative of its genus, but genetic studies speak against it. Fossil , it may have occurred as early as the Old Pleistocene . The stock is currently classified as not endangered.

features

Habitus

Female black heel antelope

The black heel antelope belongs to the medium-sized antelopes . Based on individuals from the Zambezi region , the head-trunk length is 117 to 151 cm, plus a 21 to 34 cm long tail. The weight is 23 to 62 kg. For animals from the Serengeti , a shoulder height of 79 to 93 cm is specified with an almost identical body weight. The sexual dimorphism is clearly pronounced with larger male compared to female animals. Characteristic are the generally slim physique with a straight back line, the long, slim legs and the straight head. The body fur has a red-brown color on the back, neck and upper sides with a sometimes noticeable sheen. The lower sides and the outside of the legs are colored lighter. The abdomen and the inside of the legs, on the other hand, appear whitish. The hair lies close to the body and is on average 1.2 cm long on the back and 1.5 cm long on the belly. Their bases are whitish, the wider upper part is colored reddish brown. The head is also reddish brown, but whitish spots appear above the eyes, on the mouth and on the throat. The ears reach a length of 13 to 16 cm, the insides stand out from the black tips due to their whitish color. In contrast to the closely related black-nosed impala ( Aepyceros petersi ), the black-heeled antelope largely lacks the striking black facial markings. A black stripe runs along both sides of the buttocks, which partially continues on the thigh. Additional darker spots can be found on the inside of the legs. The dark tufts of hair on the heels, which cover a gland known as the metatarsal gland , are a striking feature that gives it its name. The individual hairs here are up to 2.5 cm long. The black hooves are 4.0 to 5.2 cm long in adult animals and are sometimes set off by a narrow, lighter band. The tip of the tail is black, the dark color extends over the back of the tail to the root. The underside forms a clear contrast with its whitish, sometimes 5 to 10 cm long hair. Occasionally there are individuals with black back coloration. This color variant is caused by a mutation of the ASIP gene, which codes for the color of the fur in some mammals.

Horns are only found in male individuals. They are strongly ribbed, only the tips are smooth over a length of around 10 cm. They rise steeply at the head, then swing sideways and backwards and are directed upwards again at the tips, so that the overall shape is reminiscent of a lyre . Depending on the population , the tips can be directed outwards, inwards or parallel. The length varies from 37 to 86 cm, the longest known horn measured almost 92 cm and comes from an animal from the Masai Mara in Kenya . Females have two pairs of teats in the groin area.

Skull and dentition features

The skull is on average 26 cm long and 8.9 cm wide at the horns. Noticeable are the absence of the pre-eye fossa (fossa praeorbitalis) and the appearance of a gap between the middle jawbone and the upper jaw . The latter is also documented in the goats ( Nesotragus ) and was probably caused by the stretching of the facial skull. In the frontal bone big step hollow chambers on. The tooth formula is: The dentition is therefore composed of 32 teeth. The two outer lower incisors and the canine tooth are each shaped like a needle or pin and thus form a tooth comb . The molars are generally high crowned ( hypsodont ).

distribution and habitat

Distribution area of ​​the two types of impala:
  • Black heel antelope
  • Black-nosed Impala

    • The black heel antelope is common in eastern and southern Africa . They occur in the north from central Kenya and southwestern Uganda south to Mozambique and into northern South Africa and west to northeastern Namibia and southeastern Angola . Here in the southwestern area of ​​the natural occurrence of the black heel antelope, the more than 300 km wide strip of Ovamboland separates the antelope species from its sister form, the black-nosed impala . In individual regions, such as in Burundi , the local black heel antelope population has been wiped out; no information is available on the status of the population in the extreme southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo . The animals inhabit savannah landscapes interspersed with light trees and light forest areas, each of which offers access to water sources. They often prefer habitats with acacia stands on nutrient-rich soil that provide high-quality grasses and, especially in the dry season, soft plant food. In southern Africa the black heel antelope occurs in regions with mopane plant communities. Evidence is also available, albeit less often, from areas with long filaments and myrobalans as well as with Baikiaea . She often uses short-grass landscapes near water bodies, sometimes also slash-and-burn areas with fresh grass cover or transition regions between open savannas and forest savannas. Since the black heel antelope is less well adapted to hot, dry climates, shady treetops and, above all, water are a prerequisite for the presence of the animals; the animals largely avoid completely open areas. As a rule, they do not stay more than two to five kilometers to the nearest freshwater source. The black heel antelope can only inhabit desert-like regions with permanently accessible water sources. The species is largely absent in mountainous landscapes. On Kilimanjaro , the maximum altitude distribution is around 1700 m above sea level in KwaZulu-Natal around 1400 m. The population density varies considerably and ranges from one individual per square kilometer in Mkomazi National Park in Tanzania to 7 in Kruger National Park in South Africa and 53 in Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda up to 214 animals in a comparable area in Akagera National Park in Rwanda . The data for the latter relate to the 1970s, in the 1990s there was a dramatic drop in the population by around 75 to 80%.

    Way of life

    Territorial behavior

    Herd of black heel antelopes

    The black heel antelope lives in a complex social system. Female animals and their offspring form herds that vary in size depending on the landscape and season. In the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, the herds consist of 4 to 150 individuals, the average group size in open savannah landscapes is between 12.2 and 15.4 animals, in more closed bush regions it decreases to about 7.3. The largest herds occur during the rainy season and in the transition to the dry season in January, when an average of 23.4 individuals form a group. In the dry season in November, a group consists of an average of less than 10 animals. In general, the bond in the herds is relatively large, there is no recognizable ranking. Males can appear as territorial solitary animals, in bachelor groups, or within herds. The bachelor group consists of individuals of different ages (young animals and adult animals) with an age-related hierarchy . However, the bond between the individual members is less pronounced here than with the herds. This mainly affects the reproductive phase, when individual individuals become territorial and aggressive. After the mating season, stag groups sometimes mix with the herds. Seen over the course of the year, there is often a change within the herd structure, so that the group size sometimes changes daily. Occasional animals also migrate to neighboring herds or join them.

    Pronounced territoriality prevails among males during the reproductive phase. Dominant individuals then leave the bachelor groups and establish territories . Often the territories are laid out in areas with high quality food, while waterholes mostly represent neutral terrain. Their borders are largely stable. They are marked with secretions from the glands on the forehead by rubbing them on the vegetation. Urine and excrement marks only play a subordinate role. A claim to territory is also expressed by loud and very noticeable roaring that can be heard up to 2 km away, making the black heel antelope one of the loudest antelopes in the African savannah. It consists of a series of snorting and bleating sounds in short repetitions. Meanwhile, the animals keep their tails raised and stand or run or gallop around. The number of territorial animals is higher at the beginning of the reproductive phase than at the end. One of the reasons for this is an increasingly poor condition among the males during the mating season as a result of less food consumption. This also means that the individual territories are initially smaller. However, the size of the territories also depends on the population density of a region. In the Sengwa region in Zimbabwe, for example, with its high number of black heel antelopes , they occupy 8.5 to 11  ha , in the less densely populated Serengeti in Tanzania, however, around 17 ha. In comparison, territorial males in Limpopo claim an area of ​​around 21 ha. The territories are held here between 7 and 99 days.

    Non-territorial males and bachelor groups, on the other hand, move in action areas that are between 40 and 90 hectares in size in the Sengwa area and between 34 and 59 hectares in Limpopo. It is noticeable that the size of the animals decreases with increasing individual age. This is probably related to the initial separation of young animals from the maternal herd, while older individuals have established a rather stable tail area or show territorial characteristics. The herds' action areas are much larger. They extend over 80 to 180 ha in the Sengwa region, while values ​​of an average of 297 ha are given for the Serengeti. Due to their large size, they overlap with several territories of territorial males. The latter then lay claim to mating when a herd passes through an appropriately occupied territory. The tail areas of the herds also show little overlap with one another at the edge.

    Black heel antelopes grooming each other's fur

    The black heel antelope is largely diurnal, but sometimes nocturnal activities also occur, for example in areas of greater human influence. The animals spend a large part of their active time eating or hiking. According to research in southeast Africa, the animals spend around 30% of their active time eating, with no differences between males and females or the seasons. In contrast, males invest around 20% in vigilant strolling around, while females only invest around 10%. Migration to the various food sources takes up about 8 to 9% of the active time in both sexes. At night the animals rest lying down, especially in open landscapes. Other activities include ruminating or grooming. Especially in the resting and ruminating phases, less gender-specific or seasonal differences were found. Both take between 8 and 11% of the time. With regard to grooming, mutual grooming ( allo-grooming ) is a specialty, as it occurs in both female and male adult animals. This takes place in an alternating sequence of six to twelve bites. The specially shaped tooth comb consisting of the lower incisors and canines is used. Most likely, mutual grooming removes parasites from parts of the body that an individual cannot access. The behavior is remarkable, as this takes place in the males among unrelated conspecifics, which is not known from other ungulates. It is noticeable that dominant individuals do not receive more attention than subordinate ones. In general, males are less concerned with grooming than females, the former spend around eleven minutes of a twelve-hour day, the latter around 40 minutes. The less time required by the male individuals is probably due to the stronger competition among each other and the greater commitment to reproduction. As a result, males are often more infected with parasites.

    nutrition

    Drinking black heel antelope

    The black heel antelope feeds herbivore on both hard and soft plants ( mixed feeder ). She prefers grass , leaves , twigs , fruits and flowers . On an annual average, the diet consists of 45% grass or leaves / twigs and 10% fruit. The exact proportion of the individual components varies largely with the season. According to studies in southern Africa, the animals eat fresh grass, especially in the rainy season, so that their share increases to around 75%. During the dry season it drops to up to 10% and soft plants dominate the diet. Similar observations were made in the Serengeti in eastern Africa. On the other hand, isotope analyzes on animals from the Akagera National Park in Rwanda have shown that they mainly feed on grasses with an average proportion of over 86% in both the rainy and dry seasons. The range of variation over the year was only around 10%.

    According to field studies in Lake Mburo National Park in Uganda, the regional change from predominantly soft to hard plant food can take place before the end of the dry season, preferably at water points or on fresh burn areas where fresh grasses sprout particularly early. The composition of the food is not only influenced by the seasons, but also by gender and social status. Because the dominant male often occupies areas with nutrient-rich grasses and invest time and energy costs in the defense of the territories, they neglect the search for high-quality, but more widely scattered, soft plants. This results in a higher proportion of hard plant food in territorial males (almost 70%) compared to females or bachelors (a little over 50% each). In addition, there are also local differences, as was shown, for example, in field studies in the Kruger National Park . In the northern part of the reserve the black heel antelopes eat less grass than in the southern part. The proportions fluctuate in the former region between 41 and 44%, in the latter between 63 and 82%. The different food compositions can be explained by the lower proportion of grass vegetation in the Mopane areas of the northern Kruger National Park compared to the southern areas, interspersed with marula trees and Senegalia bushes.

    The preferred grass species in the food spectrum of the black heel antelope include, among other things, dog tooth grasses , fingergrass and bluegrass as well as representatives of the genera Themeda and Sporobolus . Acacias dominate the tree and shrubbery plants on which the animals feed particularly frequently , followed by long filaments , the color catkin bush , star bushes and shepherd trees . In the Nylsvley nature reserve in the Transvaal alone , the diet consists of around two dozen grass and almost four dozen softer plant species. The amount consumed daily is around 1 to 1.1 kg. If possible, the black heel antelope drinks daily. However, the animals can also get by for a certain period of time without ingesting fluids.

    Reproduction

    Fighting males

    The length of the mating season largely depends on the climatic conditions. It can take place almost all year round in eastern Africa with its more balanced tropical climate . A high point is found at the end of the rainy season from January to February. In southern Africa it is more restricted, as the rut of the females is influenced, among other things, by the varying length of the day. The animals mainly mate here in the dry season between April and June. In principle, females can come into the rut twice a year, but the first one is usually associated with successful fertilization . During the rut, dominant males are aggressive and sensitive to other sex members and their movements or behavior. They frequently walk around showing off their thickened nape and well-developed horns. This is partly associated with folded back ears, a raised tail, and low or high head posture. The latter expresses dominant or submissive behavior. Confrontations between two dominant individuals are carried out by sliding contests with the horns. The distinctive roaring of the males increases in intensity the further the rut has progressed. Males follow ruthless females, sniff their sexual organs and express a flehmen . The males do not roar during this partner solicitation. The gap between the two sexes is continuously shrinking. The act of mating begins with the male sitting on the female, which usually only lasts about ten seconds, but is repeated several times. After mating , the male quickly loses interest in the female.

    Female with suckling young

    After a gestation period of 195 to 215 days (27 to 28 weeks), the female usually gives birth , rarely two young away from the herd in tall grass or in the bushes. The majority of the births are limited to a very short time window at the beginning of the rainy season (in southern Africa from November to January). In the Chobe National Park in Botswana, the females give birth to their offspring within a period of only two weeks, so that the births are strongly synchronized here. Possibly this is a reaction to the strong seasonality of the region's climate and thus the short availability of high-quality food. The sex ratio is balanced at birth, but shifts over time in favor of the females. At birth, a young weighs around 3.5 to 5 kg. The young animal first remains hidden in the grass. When it is around two days old, its mother takes it to the herd during the day, but continues to spend the night away from the adult herd members in the tall grass. Often several dams hide their young in the same area. Only after about a week the offspring are no longer isolated from the herd. The behavior mediates between antelope species, which largely secrete their offspring completely, and those which integrate them directly into the herd. The young animal grows relatively quickly. After around six months, it weighs around 24 to 25 kg, regardless of gender. Weaning occurs between the 17th and 25th week of life. In the following time, a small drop in weight becomes apparent, which may be related to the change in diet in this phase. This is followed by another sharp rise in the growth curve up to the twelfth month of life. Young males then weigh a good 32 kg, females 27 kg. In the following period the growth will be significantly lower. While they are in the herd, youngsters often form communities called “kindergarten groups”, which are typical of Impalas. Within this they play games in the form of gallop competitions or wrestling matches with the horns. At the same time, the bond with the mother is waning. The young females are sexually mature at the age of 18 months. In the case of the males, this takes place around the same time period, but they can only assert themselves when they have reached full body size and develop territorial behavior and thus reproduce, which is completed around the age of four. As a rule, the female offspring remain in the maternal herd, the male is driven away when they are around one year old. Life expectancy in the wild is 13 to 14 years for females and around 10 years for males. Female individuals are fertile well into old age. As a rule, it gives birth to a young each year, so the reproduction rate over the life span of a female is around 95%. In captivity, individual animals lived to be up to 25 years old.

    Predators, commensals and parasites

    Fleeing black heel antelope

    Numerous predators hunt the black heel antelope. The most important are leopards , cheetahs , lions , African wild dogs and spotted hyenas , and rarely black-backed jackals . In southern Africa, the leopard has the largest share in the black heel antelope mortality rate . Depending on the region, between 21 and 51% of the animals killed by predators can be attributed to the big cat, in the Kruger National Park the proportion is 34%. The African wild dog, on the other hand, is responsible for 10 to 22% of the black heel antelopes killed, figures for the Kruger National Park are at the lower limit. The lion, the spotted hyena and the cheetah, each with 5 to 8%, have a rather minor influence on the local populations. For the lion, it can be assumed that as a particularly large predator, it is more specialized in large prey in the range of 190 to 550 kg. Other predators such as eagles sometimes also hunt down young animals, such as the combat eagle , for which the black heel antelope is the main source of food among mammals according to various studies in southern and eastern Africa. In the Masai Mara , antelopes fall victim to female birds of prey much more frequently than males, the total share is 13.6%. In southern Africa the black heel antelope accounts for around 4% of the prey. The danger of falling victim to a predator is greater for the black heel antelope in more wooded landscapes than in the open savannah. Typically, an individual responds to a predator farther away with a snort and slowly moves away. When predators are very close, it runs away and overcomes in long jumps up to 12 m. The black heel antelope performs characteristic kicks with its hind legs, some of which run into space, whereby the front legs touch the ground twice before the rear legs follow. Herds of young animals try to avoid encounters with predators by paying more attention. Sometimes the black heel antelope occurs in association with groups of baboons such as the anubis baboon , as observed in the Serengeti, among others. For the black heel antelope this may minimize the risk of being stalked by larger predators, but it may also be associated with higher risks for the antelope species, as the monkeys occasionally prey on their young themselves.

    Black     heel antelope and maggot chopper

    The black heel antelope is host to numerous parasites. External parasites are mainly found in ticks , among others in the genera Amblyomma , Boophilus and Rhipicephalus . The intensity of the tick infestation depends on the season and the population density and has a greater effect on adult animals than on young animals. In general, males are affected more often than females, which can be seen as an expression of the high energetic costs of reproduction. During the mating season, males carry up to six times as many parasites as females. Among other things, the decline in mutual grooming has an effect. There are also various lice , such as Damalinia and Linognathus . The latter can occur more frequently in young animals and are more common in females than males in adult individuals. The maggot chopper often picks parasites from the fur of the black heel antelope, concentrating on the areas of greatest infestation, the area around the ears, head and neck.

    Internal parasites are represented by a wide variety of worms ; in Zimbabwe alone, over three dozen different species have been detected in the black heel antelope. These include roundworms , tapeworms and flukes . Important genera include Impalaia , Haemonchus , Cooperioides , Stilesia or Pneumostrongylus . The latter was found in the lungs of 85% of all individuals in studies in Eswatini . Again based on analyzes of faecal samples from animals from Zambia, it was found that the worm infestation is significantly higher in the rainy season than in the dry season. Individual roundworms such as Strongyloides , but also coccidia , could only be detected in the wet annual phase. In addition, anthrax was occasionally documented.

    Systematics

    Internal systematics of the Impalas according to Lorenzen et al. 2006
     Aepyceros  

     Aepyceros petersi


      Aepyceros melampus  

     A. melampus (Eastern Africa)


       

     A. melampus (southern Africa)




    Template: Klade / Maintenance / Style
    Martin Hinrich Lichtenstein
    Graphic representation of the black heel antelope from Lichtenstein's first description from 1812

    The Impala is a kind from the genus of impala ( Aepyceros ). As part of the family of the Bovidae (Bovidae) the genus to the subfamily is Antilopinae and own tribe of Aepycerotini counted, in turn, with the lugs ( Nesotragus is more closely related). The impalas comprise two species of antelope restricted to eastern and southern Africa . The lyre-like, strongly ribbed horns, which are only developed in male individuals, as well as the lack of scent glands in the face, feet and in the groin area can be emphasized as special characteristics. Otherwise the animals largely resemble the other antelopes. As a rule, the impalas were regarded as belonging to only one species and were divided into subspecies: the black-heeled antelope ( A. m. Melampus ), which is widespread in eastern and south-eastern Africa and includes several subpopulations , and the black-nosed impala ( A. m . petersi ), which occurs endemically in the south-western part of the continent. In the first and second third of the 20th century, however, individual authors sometimes viewed the black-nosed impala as an independent species. However, various molecular genetic studies from the early 2000s showed that the two main populations of impala differ significantly. Among other things, there is no hybridization in the Etosha National Park in Namibia , where the black-nosed impala occurs naturally, but the black-heeled antelope was artificially introduced . This took Colin P. Groves and Peter Grubb in 2011 as an opportunity to split the genus in its revision of Huftiersystematik in two ways. In a further genetic investigation from 2006, two more or less separate lines could be differentiated within the black heel antelope, which on the one hand include the animals of eastern and on the other hand those of southern Africa. In addition, the population of the Samburu area in Kenya proved to be genetically distinctly different. The eastern and southern groups were probably formed by isolating the two populations from one another after they had separated from a common group of origin. This initial population possibly existed in the Pleistocene in southern Africa, as has also been proven for some other ungulates , some of which have been adapted to dry habitats . A high level of genetic diversity can also be demonstrated within the southern line of the black heel antelope. This is probably caused by migration and spread barriers such as the Drakensberg , which means that there is a genetic difference of up to 3.6% between the stocks in the South African regions of KwaZulu and Limpopo . In northern South Africa there are occasional animals that phenotypically correspond to the black-nosed impala, but genetically belong to the black-heeled antelope. To what extent there is a gene flow to the clearly separated population of the black-nosed impala in Namibia has not yet been clarified.

    Several subspecies of the black heel antelope have been described in the history of research. Sometimes up to half a dozen were recognized in the course of the 20th century. The distinction was often made based on the shape of the horn and the drawing of the face. A morphometric analysis from 2007 concluded that at least three of the assumed subspecies are distinguishable. These include the nominate form A. m. melampus from South Africa, A. m. johnstoni from Malawi and Zambia and A. m. suara from eastern Africa. Of these, A. m. johnstoni as the smallest form with short horns and slender skull, while A. m. suara is large compared to the nominate form and has horn tips that are widely spaced. Other authors see this more critically and regard the black heel antelope as monotypical , as neither detailed descriptions of the subspecies are available nor the distribution areas have been more precisely delimited.

    The first scientific description of the black heel antelope comes from Martin Hinrich Lichtenstein from 1812 under the name Antilope melampus . He introduced the species in his notes of his travels through southern Africa from 1803 to 1806 and added a drawing to the brief description in which he highlighted the large fluted horns and the black stripes on the tail and heels. Lichtenstein gave the "Khoossi-Thal" as the type locality, which today corresponds to Khosis near the city of Kuruman in the South African province of North Cape . The species name melampus is of Greek origin and is derived from the words μέλας ( melas ) for "black" and πούς ( pous ) for "foot", thus referring to the black stripes on the heels. The generic name Aepyceros goes back to Carl Jakob Sundevall and was coined by him in 1845. He thus distinguished the black heel antelope from other forms, also classified under the designation antelope . This term is also of Greek origin, it is based on the words αἰπύς ( aipus ) for "high" or "steep" and κέρας ( kéras ) for "horn". The name Impala is borrowed from the Zulu language. According to Lichtenstein in his first description, the Batswana called the animal P'halla .

    Tribal history

    Impalas are first detectable in the transition from the Upper Miocene to the Lower Pliocene around 5 to 6 million years ago. Early forms can be found with the species Aepyceros afarensis and Aepyceros datoadeni from the Awash region in Ethiopia or with Aepyceros dietrichi from Laetoli in Tanzania or with Aepyceros shungurae from Koobi Fora in Kenya . The latter site possibly also contained individual remains of the black heel antelope such as an almost complete skull from the Burgi layer member of the Koobi-Fora formation . However, this still shows similarities to Aepyceros shungurae , which are expressed, among other things, in a generally smaller body size, a shorter snout with signs of a forehead pit and in less lyre-like horns. Finds from the Olduvai Gorge and from Peninj around 70 km northeast of this, both in Tanzania, are clearer . The fossil remains consist of various horn fragments and jaw remains and date to the Old Pleistocene . Some fragments in the form of horn parts from the limestone quarries of Makapansgat have come down to us from southern Africa . Their exact systematic position is not clear.

    Hazard and protection

    The greatest threats to the black heel antelope population are poaching and the expansion of agricultural and grazing areas. In addition, there is an active hunt for both trophies and food resources. The black heel antelope is one of the most heavily hunted antelopes in southern Africa, along with the various springboks . The meat is often used as a dry food ( biltong ) and is also exported as game meat . High hunting pressure and human activities in general also influence the behavior of the animals, for example in the form of a change from day to night activities or shorter periods of rest. In some areas of the distribution area the species is already extinct. Nevertheless, it is considered to be widespread, the total population possibly being made up of around 2 million individuals. The IUCN therefore currently regards the black heel antelope population as "not endangered" ( least concern ). It occurs in numerous nature reserves, including the Masai Mara in Kenya, the Serengeti in Tanzania, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe and the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Around a quarter of the total population is now distributed among the protected areas. About half of them are owned by private farms, some of which are used for hunting. Overall, the black heel antelope population is rated as stable and rising slightly. Furthermore, various groups of black heel antelope have been anthropogenically introduced on game farms in Namibia and northern South Africa , as well as in two protected areas in Gabon .

    literature

    • Hervé Fritz and Mathieu Bourgarel: Aepyceros melampus Impala. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume VI. Pigs, Hippopotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 480-487
    • Colin P. Groves and David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 444-779 (pp. 624-625)
    • Walter Leuthold: Observations on the social organization of impala (Aepyceros melampus). Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 27 (6), 1970, pp. 693-720
    • Rudolf Schenkel: On sociology and behavior in impala (Aepyceros melampus suara Matschie). Journal for Mammalian Science 31, 1966, pp. 177-205
    • JT du Toit: Ruminantia. In: JD Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba (Eds.): The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 616-714 (pp. 702-706)

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q J. T. du Toit: Ruminantia. In: JD Skinner and Christian T. Chimimba (Eds.): The Mammals of the Southern African Sub-region. Cambridge University Press, 2005, pp. 616-714 (pp. 702-706)
    2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Colin P. Groves and David M. Leslie Jr .: Family Bovidae (Hollow-horned Ruminants). In: Don E. Wilson and Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of World. Volume 2: Hooved Mammals. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2011, ISBN 978-84-96553-77-4 , pp. 444-779 (pp. 624-625)
    3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Hervé Fritz and Mathieu Bourgarel: Aepyceros melampus Impala. In: Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Michael Hoffmann, Thomas Butynski, Meredith Happold and Jan Kalina (eds.): Mammals of Africa Volume VI. Pigs, Hippopotamuses, Chevrotain, Giraffes, Deer and Bovids. Bloomsbury, London, 2013, pp. 480-487
    4. ↑ Susan M. Miller, Alan J. Guthrie and Cind K. Harper: Single base-pair deletion in ASIP exon 3 associated with recessive black phenotype in impala (Aepyceros melampus). Animal Genetics 47, 2016, pp. 510-515
    5. ↑ a b Denis Geraads, René Bobe and Kaye Reed: Pliocene Bovidae (Mammalia) from the Hadar formation of Hadar and Ledi-Geraru, Lower Awash, Ethiopia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 32 (1), 2012, pp. 180-197
    6. ↑ a b Alan William of Ghent: Bovidae. In: Lars Werdelin and William Joseph Sanders (eds.): Cenozoic Mammals of Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 2010, pp. 741–796 (pp. 765–766)
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