Conserving our beautiful Bontebok

Conserving our beautiful Bontebok

By Dr Anina Lee

What is the difference between a Bontebok and a Blesbok? It would not be surprising if many people did not know. The two animals look very similar as they are both subspecies of a common ancestor, Damaliscus pygargus, which is no longer around. The Bontebok is Damaliscus pygargus pygargus, and the Blesbok is Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi.

So how can we tell them apart? Bontebok are dark chocolate brown with a purplish sheen. They have a continuous ‘bles’ (blaze) on the forehead and a distinct white rump. Their name incorporates the Afrikaans word ‘bont’, meaning multi-coloured.

The Blesbok are more ruddy brown, their ‘bles’ is broken into two white patches, and their rump has less white colouring.

In times past, their common ancestor occurred all over South Africa, but over time those that inhabited the southern coastline and those that inhabited the Highveld gradually evolved into genetically different sub-species. The Cape Fold Mountains formed the divide. The southern subspecies, the Bontebok, evolved to eat the plants available in their fynbos biome, especially renosterveld. Their northern cousins, the Blesbok, adapted to grassier plains.