South Africa is the home of the springbok, or "jumping antelope"; a lithe and beautiful little animal that also serves as emblem for the South African rugby team.

Before man settled in the area known as the Karoo, the high-lying central plateau of southern Africa, and claimed the watering places, springbok wandered the thirstlands in herds of thousands. One of the great natural spectacles of the world was the sight of springbok migrating from drought-stricken areas to find better grazing. On these occasions, the animals congregated in hundreds of thousands.

The crossing of hollows or rivers always caused the death of many animals. The surging pressure from the rear simply overwhelmed any hesitant antelope in front. The rear-guard would clamber over the backs of those in front, crushing them into water or mud and filling the hollows and rivers with corpses.

The springbok, Antidorcas marsupialis, is the southern African representative of the gazelle group of animals. It is only found in Southern Africa on the central plains, where it flourishes on the grassveld, despite the aridity. Male and female springboks have horns, are handsomely marked and are particularly distinguished by a dorsal fan.

The fawn upper parts are separated from the white underparts by a dark-brown lateral stripe. The front parts of the head, inside of the legs and back of the thighs are white. A reddish-brown stripe stretches along the side of the face from the base of the horn to the corner of the mouth. The dorsal fan consists of long, white, bristly hairs, which are erected when the gazelle starts its astonishing "pronking". This strange, excitable habit of bouncing into the air makes the springbok unique among South African antelope.

The motivations for pronking are not fully understood. It seems to be partly a nervous reaction. When the animal is startled, it erects its fan and draws its lithe body into a position similar to that of a bucking horse: the head is lowered almost to the feet, the legs are extended with hoofs bunched together. Then the animal takes off - leaping into the air for almost three meters; hanging in space and seeming to defy gravity. Seeing a herd of springboks pronking together is a delightful sight. They hardly seem to touch the earth, bounding up and down some times at an angle, but always at an intense speed.

If they decide to bolt to avoid predators (which happens fairly often), they extent their necks, lay their horns and ears back and seem to take off in the wind. The dorsal fan is not erected during flight.

Black springboks and albinos are fairly common. Many farmers protect the springboks on their farms and large herds can also be found in game reserves such as the Kalahari National Park and the Etosha National Park. They are also common in Botswana.

The use of the springbok as the national rugby emblem of South Africa has quite an interesting background. In 1906, the first South African rugby team to tour to Britain had just reached London. Sports journalists enquired about the team's nickname as the New Zealand team had recently been named the "All Blacks" on account of their black togs.

The South African team had no nickname, but the next day they visited the London Zoo and were surprised to find a small herd of springbok there. Some members suggested that they adopt the springbok as their nickname.

The idea was received with approval and the next day the team's captain, Paul Roos, suggested to the accompanying newspaper reporter that they call the team "De Springbokken". This was later shortened to "Springbokke" and eventually to "Springboks", which has been the name of the team ever since.

Today the springbok is still used as symbol on certain coins, emblems and stamps, but its use in the national coat of arms and on banknotes has fallen away.

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Photographer: Peet van Schalwyk - www.youtube.com