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Information about Impala

Impala
Enlarge picture
A Black-faced Impala in Etosha National Park, Namibia

A Black-faced Impala in Etosha National Park, Namibia
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Mammalia
Order:Artiodactyla
Family:Bovidae
Subfamily:Aepycerotinae
Gray, 1872
Genus:Aepyceros
Sundevall, 1847
Species:A. melampus
Binomial name
Aepyceros melampus
(Lichtenstein, 1812)
Enlarge picture
Range map

Range map
An impala (Aepyceros melampus Greek aipos "high" ceros "horn" + melas "black" pous "foot") is a medium-sized African antelope. The name impala comes from the Zulu language. They are found in savannas in Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, southern Angola, northeastern South Africa and Uganda (the source of that country's capital city's name - Kampala).

Appearance

Average weight for an Impala is approximately 75 kilograms. They are reddish-brown in color with lighter flanks, and have
Enlarge picture
Impala ram from the Kruger National Park, South Africa.
white underbellies. Males have lyre-shaped horns which can reach up to 90 centimeters in length. When frightened or startled the whole herd starts leaping about in order to confuse their predator. They can jump distances more than 9 meters (30 feet) and 2.5 meters (8 feet) high. They are prey to almost every large predator.

Habits

Impala are among the dominant species in many savannas. They are gregarious creatures and are usually found in herds, often a male with many females, although an ewe will leave the herd to give birth. Their food consists of a mixture of grasses and leaves. Herds will use specific areas for their excrement. Impala are active during both day and night. Impala are dependent on water, and a herd is normally an indicator of water close by.
Enlarge picture
Impala ewe from the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Note the characteristic "M" marking on its rear, which gives it the popular name "MacDonalds of the Bush".

Social structure

Young male impala form bachelor herds of around thirty individuals. Females and young form herds of up to two hundred individuals. Mature males hold territories, and lead any female herds that wander into their territory.

References

External links




Impala leaping from the water

A group of impala in South Africa

Impala in Zambia

Male impala

Impala leaping in Kenya
Location Namibia
Nearest city Okaukuejo
Coordinates
Area 22,270 km²
Established June 20, 1975

Governing body Ministry of Environment and Tourism
Etosha National Park
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Motto
"Unity, Liberty, Justice"
Anthem
Namibian Anthem )
[[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2004) [[Image:Red Arrow Down.svg|10px]] 0.626 (medium) ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|125th]])
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conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the
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Conservation Dependent (LR/cd) was an IUCN category assigned to species or lower taxa which were dependent on conservation efforts to prevent the taxon becoming threatened with extinction.
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Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. Scientific classification also can be called scientific taxonomy, but should be distinguished from folk taxonomy, which lacks scientific basis.
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Chordata
Bateson, 1885

Typical Classes

See below

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates.
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Mammalia
Linnaeus, 1758

Subclasses & Infraclasses
  • Subclass †Allotheria*
  • Subclass Prototheria
  • Subclass Theria

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Artiodactyla*
Owen, 1848

Families

Antilocapridae
Bovidae
Camelidae
Cervidae
Giraffidae
Hippopotamidae
Moschidae
Suidae
Tayassuidae
Tragulidae
Leptochoeridae †
Dichobunidae †
Cebochoeridae †
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Bovidae
Gray, 1821

Subfamilies

Bovinae
Cephalophinae
Hippotraginae
Antilopinae
Caprinae
Reduncinae
Aepycerotinae
Peleinae
Alcelaphinae
Panthalopinae

A bovid
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John Edward Gray

Born January 12 1800(1800--)
Walsall, England
Died March 07 1875 (aged 75)

Nationality British
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Carl Jakob Sundevall (1801 - 1875) was a Swedish zoologist.

Sundevall studied at Lund University, where he became a Ph.D. in 1823. After traveling to East Asia, he studied medicine, graduating as Doctor of Medicine in 1830.
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binomial nomenclature is the formal system of naming species. The system is also called binominal nomenclature (particularly in zoological circles), binary nomenclature (particularly in botanical circles), or the binomial classification system.
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Martin Heinrich Carl Lichtenstein (January 10, 1780 - September 2, 1857) was a German physician, explorer and zoologist. He was the son of Anton August Heinrich Lichtenstein. He died after a duel fought at sea off Kiel.
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19th century - 20th century
1780s  1790s  1800s  - 1810s -  1820s  1830s  1840s
1809 1810 1811 - 1812 - 1813 1814 1815

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30,221,532 km² (11,668,545 sq mi) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area, and 20.4% of the total land area.
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Antelope are herbivorous mammals of the family Bovidae, often noted for their horns. These animals are spread relatively evenly throughout the various subfamilies of the Bovidae and many are more closely related to cows or goats than to each other.
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Zulu}}} 
Official status
Official language of: South Africa
Swaziland
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: zu
ISO 639-2: zul
ISO 639-3: zul

Zulu (called isiZulu
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savanna or savannah is a tropical or subtropical woodland ecosystem. Savannas are characterised by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close.
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Motto
"Harambee"   (Swahili)
"Let us all pull together"
Anthem
Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu
"Oh God of All Creation"
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Motto
"Uhuru na Umoja"   (Swahili)
"Freedom and Unity"
Anthem
Mungu ibariki Afrika
"God Bless Africa"
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Motto
none
Anthem
Pátria Amada
(formerly Viva, Viva a FRELIMO)


Capital
(and largest city) Maputo

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Motto
"Unity, Liberty, Justice"
Anthem
Namibian Anthem )
[[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2004) [[Image:Red Arrow Down.svg|10px]] 0.626 (medium) ([[List of countries by Human Development Index|125th]])
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Motto
"Pula"
"Rain"
Anthem
Fatshe leno la rona
Blessed Be This Noble Land


Capital
(and largest city) Gaborone

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Anthem
Stand and Sing of Zambia, Proud and Free


Capital Lusaka

Largest city Lusaka
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Motto
"Unity, Freedom, Work"
Anthem
Simudzai Mureza wedu WeZimbabwe   (Shona)
Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe   (Ndebele)
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Motto
"Virtus Unita Fortior"   (Latin)
"Unity Provides Strength"
Anthem
Angola Avante!   (Portuguese)
Forward Angola!
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Motto
"For God and My Country"
Anthem
Oh Uganda, Land of Beauty


Capital Kampala

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Kampala, Uganda
Kampala, Uganda
Map of Uganda showing the location of Kampala.
Coordinates:
Province Kampala (district)
Population (2002)
 - City 1,208,544
 - Urban 1,208,544
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