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Klipspringer

For most of us, oreo means a cream-filled chocolate sandwich. But in the scientific name of the klipspringer, Oreotragus oreotragus, the prefix "oreo" refers to a hill or mountain, from the Greek ore. The second syllable means goat, also from the Greek, providing a pretty good visual image of this diminutive African mammal. The common name, an Afrikaaner word meaning rock-springer, adds behavior to the picture.

The klipspringer lives high on rocky crags and outcrops, moving on this steep and treacherous terrain with a stiff, spring-y gait, and standing with all four feet together to gain purchase on the smallest of level rocks. Not really a goat, the klipspringer is a member of a group of African ungulates called dwarf antelope.

Numbering only about 12 species that occupy diverse habitats from dense forest to semi-arid scrub, dwarf antelope range in size from the 4.5-pound royal antelope to the 45-pound beira. The klipspringer weighs in at between 22 and 33 pounds and stands just 17 to 20 inches at the shoulder. Living in small family groups, klipspringers are widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara.

More information:

ZooGoer 28(1) 1999. Copyright 1999 Friends of the National Zoo. All rights reserved

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