Bovidae Subfamily: Antilopinae
Artiodactyla
Mammalia
about 240 days
1
ESB
Herbivore based mainly on grasses of the genus Themeda (in various growth phases) and also on the genera Eragrostis and Chloromelas.
23 years
These antelopes are easily identified by the white color of their faces that contrasts strongly with the reddish brown of their bodies. Blesboks differ from bonteboks (the other subspecies) in that they do not have white buttocks and legs, if applicable, these are a lighter tone than the rest of the body and only the lower and inner part of the legs are white. Young individuals have beige tones in their coloration.
Both sexes have long, curved, lyre-shaped horns, but these are somewhat larger in males.
They are diurnal animals that spend most of the morning and afternoon grazing, while they use midday and night to rest.
They are gregarious and form groups of more than 25 individuals. Throughout the year they migrate in search of the best pastures.
They have been observed grunting and snorting as an alarm signal. Aggressive interactions between males involve clashing of their horns and can be fatal.
Both males and females mark objects with secretions from preorbital glands, deposited on grass stems to be later spread with their horns.
Blesboks were highly threatened in the 19th century due to hunting; their numbers went from large populations to just about two thousand individuals. Currently many populations have recovered and are in a stable situation.
