The shy and solitary Cape grysbok

Writer: Anina Lee.

Many local residents have seen this photograph on social media (right). It is a Marshall eagle with its newly caught prey – a Cape grysbok. The photograph was taken by a camera trap set up by the Landmark Foundation to track leopards in the Klein River Mountains.

If an eagle – even a big one like the Marshall – can prey on an antelope, rather than a dassie, that antelope must be quite small. And so it is. According to my research, the Cape grysbok (Raphicerus melanotis) is a small antelope at only about 50 cm at the shoulder, weighing around 10 kg. The species is endemic to South Africa’s Fynbos Biome of the Western and Eastern Cape. It is relatively common but rarely seen, as it is very wary and avoids human contact whenever possible.

The Cape grysbok prefers to browse on open plains near the shelter of thickets and dense shrubs that can provide natural cover from predators. The one that fell prey to the eagle had probably wandered too far from shelter in its browsing – and ventured out during daylight, when they normally browse at night to avoid this very fate.

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 8)