Klipspringer

Kopje (Dutch), monadnock (American Indian), and inselberg (German) are all weird words that I’ve never heard of before. They mean an isolated rocky hill usually surrounded by a veld. A veld is an area of land with few trees. Now that we have that straightened out, guess who lives on the kopje? YES! The Klipspringer! They are tiny little jumping ballerina antelopes. They can squeeeeeeeze their tiny wittle hooves all together in an area as small as a silver dollar, while balancing and looking adorable.

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Gemsbok

The world’s largest antelope species, the Gemsbok, lives in a very dry, hot place in Africa.

How hot and dry is it?

It’s so hot and dry, and water is so scarce, that they concentrate their pee and absorb all the moisture from their poop to stay hydrated, making for dry, pellet-like turds.

Saiga Antelope

The Saiga. When I began learning about this beautiful antelope and it’s distinctive nose, I fell in love. It was difficult to get past the fact that these animals are critically endangered. Time and time again the results of human behavior have caused the decline of this ungulate. I wish I could write more, but right now I’m disgusted with the human animal:  this post should not be a tirade on bad human behavior, but to inform about a majestic creature.

Instead, I will link to the Saiga Conservation Alliance, which is a wonderful organization working to saving the Saiga from extinction