Classroom lesson 路 Wildlife馃嚳馃嚘 South Africa

Springbok - the leaping antelope

Can jump 2 metres straight up - a move called 'pronking'

A springbok standing in tall golden grass in southern Africa

Photo 路 Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

The springbok is a small, fast antelope that lives across South Africa's dry grasslands. It is so closely linked to the country that it is the symbol of the national rugby team, the Springboks. The name 'springbok' is Afrikaans for 'jumping antelope'.

Tell me more

Springboks have a special party trick called 'pronking'. They suddenly leap straight up into the air - sometimes 2 metres high - with all four legs stiff and their backs arched. They can do it again and again, bouncing across the grass like they are on springs.

Scientists are not completely sure why springboks pronk. One leading idea is that they do it to show off how fit and healthy they are, so that predators decide to chase someone slower. Another is that it lets them see further over the long grass to spot trouble.

Springboks are about the size of a medium dog and weigh roughly the same as a 10-year-old child. They have soft brown backs, white bellies, and a dark stripe running along each side. When they pronk, a hidden white patch on their back fluffs out like a flag.

On Africa's open plains, springboks used to gather in enormous herds - the biggest herds anyone had ever seen, with hundreds of thousands of animals together. The herds are smaller today, but a group of springboks pronking together is still one of the great sights of South Africa.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why might it be useful for an animal to show off to a predator that it is healthy and fast?
  2. 02Can you think of other animals that jump high or far? What do they have in common?
  3. 03If you had to choose an animal to be your country's sports symbol, which would you pick?
Try this

Classroom activity

On the playground, mark 2 metres up a wall with chalk - that's how high a springbok can pronk. How does that compare to the height of the tallest child in class? Then have everyone try a single jump in place. How close can you get to springbok height?

More about South Africa

Other things that make South Africa special

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