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The Impala – Things to Know

An impala is a sexually dimorphic medium sized African antelope of the genus Aepyceros and belongs to the family Bovidae. It occupies most parts of East and South Africa. It was first described by German zoologist Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein in 1812 and 2 subspecies have been recognized: the common impala (A. m. melampus) and the black-faced (A. m. petersi) with the later restricted to south western Africa and the former inhabiting East and South African savannas.

A male impala

The vernacular name “impala” is from the Zulu language meaning “gazelle”. The scientific name is derived from Greek words αιπος aipos (“high”), κερος ceros (“horn”) and melas (“black”), pous (“foot”). They have glossy reddish- brown coat with a white under part. An m-shaped black strip runs along their bums and males typically have horns and are noticeably larger than females. There are also black stripes on the forehead, rump, tip of the ears and tail as well as white rings around the eyes as well as light chin and muzzle. The horns are slender, lyre shaped and have strong ridges with tips far apart. They are circular and hollow at the base.

A male impala weighs between 53–76 kg and stand 75–92 cm tall at shoulder while females are 70–85 cm tall and weigh between 40–53 kg. Impalas are typically 120–160 cm long from head – tail. They inhabit savanna grasslands and woodlands close to water sources and are mixed foragers, whose diet consists of grasses, forbs, monocots, dicots and foliage. An impala switches between grazing and browsing depending on the season and habitat. They are usually active shortly after dawn and before dusk. They spend part of their night feeding and resting. They usually stop feeding when raining and congregate together facing in the opposite direction of the wind as they start chewing the cud.

Impalas are fast runners and are known for their leaping ability reaching 3meters high and 10 meters long. Their communication involves both visual and vocal cues most notably giving loud roars and laying scent-trails. The female impala normally leads the herd and the males guard from the rear. The leader will often stop to scan the vicinity for any danger and will erect her ears to trap any sounds from the surrounding while the rest are relaxed. When it sees an object it doesn’t understand, it will try coming relatively closer to take a good look.

An impala fleeing from danger

When danger is sensed, the impala stands motionless and meticulously scans the vicinity for the predator as it raise its head up and erects its ears. When the predator is confirmed, unlike other antelopes that run in the open, the impala will run into thick vegetation to hide from the predator.

Their social behavior is highly dependent on the seasons. During the wet seasons, the impalas form three distinctive groups: the territorial males, the bachelor herds and the female herds but these may intermix during dry seasons. During mating, the males often prefer herding small groups which can easily be defended and sometimes reclaiming their previous mates. The male tries to protect any female moving within its territory by including it in its herd and guiding it towards the center of the herd. Fights often occur between males for territorial dominance especially during mating seasons. Those which are defeated will join the bachelor herds which involve the juvenile males and non-territorial adults.

The female herds consist of 15-100 members and form clans that inhabit home ranges of about 80 – 180 hectares. They don’t have a distinct leader but any mature female will just assume the role at any particular time. Bachelor herds consist of about 30 individual members that maintain a distance of 2.5- 3 meters from one another when grazing. The young males may interact with mature ones but the middle aged males are known to shun each other.

The gestation period of an impala is 6-7 months though the female has the ability to delay birth for an additional month if the conditions are not favorable. They normally produce single fawns which are hidden in isolated spots for few weeks before joining the herd with their mothers. After joining the herd, these fawns will join the nursery group and only go to the mother for nursing or when the predator attacks.

Fawns are weaned after 4- 6 months and males which are mature are forced out of the herd to join the bachelor herds. Females reach sexual maturity at 1year although they only mate when they are 4 years old. Females mature sexually at 1 and a half years.

The impala is preyed upon by many carnivores like lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and hunting dogs as well as humans. The common impala has been regarded as of least concern by the IUCN and its population has been estimated at about 4 million where as its relative the black-faced impala has been threatened to about 2000- 3000 individuals and has been regarded as Vulnerable by IUCN. The life span of an impala is 12 years in the wild and can go beyond in captivity.

Whereas the common impala occupies most parks of East and South Africa, it is surprising that in Uganda it is only found in L. Mburo National park. Book your Uganda tour today with Africa Adventure to discover more about this high jumper in one of the most accessible national parks in Uganda also known as the ‘Whispers of the wild’.