Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Black-Faced Impala

There are two subspecies of Impala, the common impala which I've previously blogged about, and the black-faced impala. There are an estimated 2 million common impala, but only an estimated 2,200 to 3,200 black-faced impala, found in northwestern Namibia and southwestern Angola, of which about half are in Etosha National Park in Namibia. It appears that most of those in Etosha are in the southwestern portion of the park.
This beautiful buck has a long stripe down the side of the nose in addition to the stripe on the bridge of the nose. 
This younger buck has the stripe on the ridge, but not much on the side. 
The black-faced impala is larger and darker than the common impala. It has a dark stripe on either side of the nose, that runs upward to the eyes and thins as it reaches the forehead, but appears to be longer in males than females. It also has a larger black tip on the ear and a bushier and longer tail. 
These beautiful females are drinking at the Chudop waterhole in the far eastern part of Etosha. I love the white at the bottom of the legs. 

Close-up of this beautiful buck.
They are beautiful and I fell in love with them. 

1 comment:

  1. The first and last photos are especially spectacular. Love the stripes.

    ReplyDelete