Antelope - Impala - Africa's Wild Wonders - Go Wild

Africa's sun pulls all moisture from the savannah, drying up rivers into small waterholes. These remaining places of water soon turn into the domain of predators. Crocodiles can lie motionless for hours in the hopes of grabbing a thirsty visitor. Impalas survive with little water when vegetation is lush and dew plentiful. But in the dry season, they must drink daily. Crocodiles are supreme predators who will take advantage of any opportunity presented to them. The lucky youngster manages to live another day. Resting impalas chew the cud. Partially eaten grass is pulled back up into the mouth as a broken-down ball, where it is worked on for some time before going back down again into their four-chambered stomach. This way, they extract as many nutrients as possible from coarse vegetation that animals with one stomach cannot digest. It's an efficient way to eat and also a great way to be on the alert for predators. Sporting beautiful lyre-shaped horns, only male impalas have the burden that goes with wearing them. Males work their way up through the hierarchy of their bachelor herd until one becomes the dominant male. He will then leave to challenge a territorial male through horn duels. The prize at stake? Mating rights with the females of that herd. It's not the length of the horn that gives the advantage in these battles, but rather the weight and condition of the antelope. Due to constant duels, the territorial male loses weight, and when he is defeated, he returns to a bachelor group to recover and start again. So consumed with fighting, many of these rutting males become weak and not only succumb to fighting wounds, but also push themselves into situations where they are off-guard and susceptible to predators. Wild dogs are alert predators, who will take advantage of any opportunity presented their way. Impalas are one of the main food sources for predators in Africa, and they have developed extra survival skills so that their species may survive. Their muscles have become supreme at releasing oxygen and glucose quickly to their muscle fibres, giving them the advantage of longer endurance over most of their predators. However, wild dogs hunt in packs and are Africa's most successful hunters. The rutting season, which causes the demise of so many impala males, also gives life back to the herds. Fawns are born away from the herd, where their mother will keep them in isolation for a few days before returning, where her and her baby are protected by the safety of numbers. As is always the case in Africa, life is taken to sustain other life, but eventually life also returns to the savannah.