Bucks.

Antelope play a huge role in the ecosystem out here, and are under-rated as far as I'm concerned. Here are a selection of shots I captured while working on Thabo Tholo of the some of the different antelope residing on the reserve.

Rare: Hartebeest (Left) and Blesbok (Right). I only saw these two species twice each in the whole five months I was on the reserve.

Huge: Gemsbok (Left), with their incredible horns, and Eland (Right), the largest antelope weighing up to a ton. 

Common: Impala are one of the more common antelope found in South Africa, with males capable of making extraordinary calls during the mating season which sound like something a lot more dangerous!! They have a nickname of "Bush McDonalds" due to the M on their behind and the fact that despite their impressive speed, are fed on by most of the larger carnivores, particularly during lambing season.

Solo: Bushbuck lead a quiet, stealthy life in thick bush, well most of the time. Stories of males (Right) being hyper-aggressive during the breeding season mean they're definitely not to be taken lightly! The spots on their coat, see prominently on the baby with it's mother (Left) help break up their bodies outline and help camouflage them.

Thabo Tholo: Translates to Kudu Mountain, and they are everyone on the reserve!! Males can get huge, and their horns are so impressive, although surely a huge pain when moving through the bush. Their coats have stripes, which help break up their bodies outline to act as camouflage. 

Dimorphism: No antelope exudes greater sexual dimorphism than Nyala. Adult males (Left of the picture at the top) develop dark manes and large horns, while young and females (Right of the picture at the top) have much light coats, and are adult females are much smaller. I was lucky enough to hand-feed some of the Nyala on the reserve (Bottom Left). Nyala combine both spots and stripes to help break up their bodies outline (Bottom Right).