Facts About Antelope

via northrup.org

Antelopes are four-legged animals which have split hooves and horns. Most of them look like deer but they are more closely related to goats and sheep. These mammals are known to be cud-chewers.

Antelopes vary in different sizes. The Royal Antelope is just 10 inches high. The Eland weighs 1, 200 lbs or 544 kg. Their horns also vary in size and shape. Their horns may be straight, spiraled or curved. Along with this, smaller antelopes may have mere nubbins. Larger ones may even have horns that are 4 feet long.

The horns of antelopes are hollow but actually having bony core surrounded by hardened skin. These are known to be true horns and not antlers. Antlers only occur in the deer family. They are bony outgrowths which are not covered by horn and are yearly shed.

Antelopes are ruminant animals which means they have four-chambered stomach. They just swallow their food without chewing it. Later the food is brought up in small masses back to the mouth to be chewed. 

There are no true antelopes native to North America. Most of them can be found in Africa. Moreover, in the western section of North America there is a group of animals which have been named pronghorn antelopes but they belong to a different family. 

Antelopes live in variety of places in which they travel in herds or groups. There are many different types of antelopes. Some of which are the lesser gnu, dik-dijk, eland , the impala, the blackbug, the duikerbol and the African lechive.