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Mammal. The impala is a species of antelope. Standing 90 centimeters (3 feet) tall, they can leap 3 meters (10 feet) in the air and reach 9 meters (30 feet) in a single bound. Extremely sociable, they live in herds of hundreds of individuals. Only males have horns. During the mating season each adult male establishes a territory. Male impalas attract females or warn off other males by repeatedly sticking out their tongues in a display known as “tongue flashing.” When in danger, impalas will explode in a group, leaping, zig-zagging, and even jumping over and across one another to confuse predators. |
| Scientific
Name |
Lifespan |
| Aepyceros melampus |
12-15 years |
| Diet |
| Herbivore. Green grass, flowers, herbs, sprouts, green foliage, seedpods. The impala is both a grazer (eating plants on the ground) and a browser (eating leaves on trees). Most herbivores are one or the other. |
| Predators and Threats |
| Lions, hyenas, wild dogs, crocodiles, leopards, eagles, and cheetahs. Baboons prey on young. |
| Habitat |
| Short grass with medium or dense stands of bush, permanent water supply; Africa. |
