wisdom
One of the bush’s most ubiquitous creatures, impala are almost as certain on a game drive as a sunrise or set. In a world where rare and unobtainable seems to increase something’s value, this could imply they’re not something to be acknowledged. But every species, no matter how often you might have seen it, is a miracle of nature and deserves to be celebrated. Because each is a link in the chain, an invaluable part of the ecosystem. Look through this lens and learn. Born collaborators: Impalas are synchronised breeders. Guides will look to the impala to mark the change in season – the first birth indicates the rainy period has begun. At the beginning of the breeding season, females will usually give birth within a few days of each other. This gives calves the best chance at survival because, aside from there being plentiful food
and water at this time, there is safety in numbers. This sense of community extends to after the young are born, when herds form crèches or nursery groups. Engineered for survival: Twice as many female impalas are born each year as males – one of the ways that nature, in its supreme wisdom, maximises the opportunity for breeding in a herd. Nature knows. Abundant but unique: Impalas may be easy to spot and bountiful in number, but they are one of a kind. Not just for their unique traits, but scientifically too. They are the only members of the genus aepyceros that fall under the Bovidae family (which includes buffalo, cows, goats, and sheep). Aepyceros is, in other words, a monotypic genus, meaning it contains only one living species: the impala. Literally one of a kind.
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