Antelope

• Antelope, common name applied to a diverse group of hollow-horned mammals that belong to the same family as cattle, goats, and sheep.

• About 100 species of antelopes live in Africa and Asia, including some of the world's fastest and most elegant hoofed mammals, as well as some of the most endangered.
• In size, antelopes range from the tiny royal antelope, which stands about 25 cm (10 in) high at the shoulder, to the massively built common eland, which can weigh as much as 900 kg (nearly 2,000 lb)—more than an average car.
• Some better-known antelopes include impalas, gazelles, and gnus.Antelopes vary widely in their physical appearance and the way they live.
• Some antelopes, including many of the smallest species, stay close to vegetative cover and disappear into the undergrowth if disturbed, but most live in more open habitats where they rely on speed and alertness to escape attack.
• The species that flee also use their superb jumping skills to escape from predators: impalas, for example, can leap over fences 3 m (10 ft) high, and cover 10 m (33 ft) in a single bound.
• Some antelopes are solitary but most live in herds. In the late 1800s, herds of springbok in southern Africa sometimes included over 10 million animals that spread over a distance of 160 km (100 mi).
• Although herds no longer reach this astounding size today, antelopes still dominate life in African plains.
• They help grass thrive by nibbling away competing plants, and they provide food for predators and also for people.