Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Impala.

Ecology


Impalas are an ecotone species living in light woodland with little undergrowth and grassland of low to medium height. They have an irregular distribution due to dependence on free water, soils with good drainage with firm footing and moderate or less slope. While they are usually close to water in the dry season, they can go weeks without drinking when they have access to green vegetation.
Impalas are adaptable foragers. They usually switch between grazing and browsing depending on the season. During wet seasons when grasses are green and growing they graze. During dry seasons it browses foliage, shoots, forbs and seeds. It can also adapt to different habitats by being a grazer in one habitat a browser in another. Leopards, cheetahs, lions and wild dogs prey on impala.



Impala, as well as other small- to medium-sized African antelopes, have a special dental arrangement on the front lower jaw similar to the toothcomb seen in strepsirrhine primates, which is used during grooming to comb the fur and remove ectoparasites.

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