Black-faced Impala
| Black-faced Impala | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A Black-faced Impala in Etosha National Park, Namibia | |
 | |
| Adult female with young | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Aepycerotinae |
| Genus: | Aepyceros |
| Species: | A. melampus |
| Subspecies: | A. m. petersi |
| Trinomial name | |
| Aepyceros melampus petersi Bocage, 1879 | |
The Black-faced Impala (Aepyceros melampus petersi) is a subspecies of the impala native to Angola and Namibia. It is not hard to tell it apart from the common impala, being significantly larger and having a black facial marking. It is also found in different locations than the common impala. While the species as a whole is not endangered, this subspecies has come close to extinction. In 1968–1971, 310 individuals were transferred to Etosha National Park for better protection, and their number is steadily increasing. However, the current population is still less than 1000 and possible interbreeding with the common impala from nearby farms may be damaging to the gene pool. [2]
Gallery
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Adult, male Black-faced Impala stotting from Etosha National Park, Namibia
References
- ↑ IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Aepyceros melampus ssp. melampus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
- ↑ Eline Deirdre Lorenzen, Institute of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2007 ARKive