Bontebok
Bontebok
Bontebok were saved from extinction about 200 years ago by local farmers in South Africa who set aside land for them. At the time, fewer than 20 wild bontebok were believed to remain. Today, they are still vulnerable to extinction, but they number almost 2,000.
Damaliscus pygargus pygargus
Herbivore
Southern Africa
Grasslands
This species is most active in the early morning and evening.
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Bontebok were saved from extinction about 200 years ago by local farmers in South Africa who set aside land for them. At the time, fewer than 20 wild bontebok were believed to remain. Today, they are still vulnerable to extinction, but they number almost 2,000.
This medium-sized antelope has a striking white blaze running down the center of their face that resembles a knight’s helmet. While their coat is mostly a rich brown color, their tails, bellies, and feet are white. Bontebok weigh between 120-175 pounds and measure four to five feet in length. Males are slightly larger than females, and both sexes develop angular ringed horns that grow up to 18 inches in length. They look very similar to the blesbok, which is another subspecies of a common ancestor, but blesbok typically have a brown patch between the eyes separating the white facial blaze.
Most bontebok live in small herds. Dominant males mark small territories with dung and urine. Nursery herds of a few females and their lambs stay with these territorial males year-round but also venture into other areas where bachelor herds live. Males display dominance by digging up soil, stomping their feet, swinging their heads, and occasionally clashing horns.
In the wild, breeding occurs between January and April. Single calves are born between September and December after a gestation period of 7-8 months. Lambs weigh about 15 pounds and stand up within an hour of being born. Lambs are weaned after four to five months so the females can have another lamb the next year. Males leave their mother’s herd after about a year and join a bachelor herd. Females may stay with their mother’s herd or join one of these bachelor herds. Both sexes are mature around 2 years of age, but don’t start breeding until they are 3 to 5 years old.
This species is most active in the early morning and evening.
Bontebok are restricted to protected areas, such as Bontebok National Park and nature preserves, in the Western Cape of South Africa.
This species prefers open areas with low shrubs in the critically endangered East Coast Renosterveld Bioregion – only 9-12% of the original habitat remains.
Bontebok are almost exclusively grazers. In the wild, they eat a variety of short grasses and prefer recently burnt veld, fynbos, and strandveld habitats (shrubland biomes of the Cape Floristic Region). Thanks to the water content of their diet, they can go several days without water but will drink when water is available. Bontebok at the Zoo eat a commercially prepared herbivore diet and Bermuda hay.
The exact status of wild bontebok is difficult to determine due to uncontrolled movement and interbreeding with the closely related blesbok. Threats to wild populations include habitat loss and fragmentation and low genetic diversity. They are also especially sensitive to climate change as their reproductive success is correlated with rainfall and the protein content of their diet. While ranching for ecotourism and trophy hunting on private land is extensive, these individuals are not considered or counted as part of the wild population.
The bontebok at Zoo Atlanta is part of a population managed by an Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan® (SSP) program which aims to preserve genetic diversity.
Association of Zoos and Aquariums. (2021 December). Species Survival Statistics Table. Retrieved from https://www.aza.org/species-survival-statistics?locale=en
AZA Antelope and Giraffe TAG. (n.d.). Bontebok Species Profile. Retrieved May 17, 2022 from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5302324de4b07a6f6407cbb5/t/5ce4a10b166b0e000116a9d4/1558487450813/Bontebok.pdf
Furstenburg, D. (2012 May). Focus on the Bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygargus). Retrieved from ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316156670_Focus_on_the_Bontebok_Damaliscus_pygargus_pygargus
Horn, N. (2021 Jan. 25). The bontebok – a species saved from the brink of extinction. Retrieved from Cape Nature: https://www.capenature.co.za/news/2021/the-bontebok-a-species-saved-from-the-brink-of-extinction
Oregon Zoo. (n.d.). Bontebok. Retrieved May 22, 2022 from https://www.oregonzoo.org/discover/animals/bontebok
Poulsen, Zoë. (n.d.). What is Renosterveld? Retrieved May 17, 2022 from Notes from a Cape Town Botanist: https://www.capetownbotanist.com/what-is-renosterveld/
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. (n.d.). Bontebok. Retrieved May 17, 2022 from https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bontebok