BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION:
SPECIES: Aepyceros melampus
DISTRIBUTION: Southern and East Africa, black-faced in northern-Namibia and southern Angola.
VARIANTS: East African, southern & black-faced.
SIZE: Males 60kg/females 45kg.
RUTTING SEASON: April, May, June.
LAMBING SEASON: November, December.
GESTATION: 6-7 months.
SEX RATIO IN THE WILD: 1:3
FOOD: Grazers and browsers, highly selective grazers.
PREDATORS: Caracal, leopard, cheetah, wild dog, lions.

As mixed feeders they will browse and graze and will even survive the late dry season by feeding on fallen leaves – particularly mopane.

BEHAVIOR:
Ewes and their lambs live in clans (a term more often associated with hyenas) or herds within a home range.  A home range is simply an area in which an animal will find all the necessities for survival.  On the other hand, a defended area is defined as a territory in which males will fight for mating rights (territory size varies in impala from 11 to 66 ha).

Lambing takes place in November/December and varies according to rainfall.

So, the poorer the feed (late rains) the later will be the lambing.  Lambing is co-ordinated, in effect swamping the predators’ ability to predate the lambs.

Shot Placement: Impala

Rams may also be encountered in bachelor herds, which serve as social refuge once young males start to leave the maternal herd. These males, whilst less aggressive towards each other than the territorial rams, make use of this opportunity to establish a ranking order.  Rules are sometimes broken, though, and adult males may be encountered in the company of female herds, and territorial males may tolerate bachelor rams within their territories. 

Territorial rams advertise dominance by assuming a proud erect posture, and produce pungent perfumes from glands on their foreheads.  They also defecate on piles of droppings called middens.  Non-territorial individuals also use these middens, and apart from their signpost function it has been suggested that these may have a hygienic function, concentrating parasite-laden feaces in specific areas and so reducing transfer in social species. 

Both sexes have highly visible metatarsal glands on their hind legs, indicated by the “paintbrush” of dark hair just above the hooves.  Unlike the sexual nature of the glands on the foreheads of males, the secretions of these metatarsal glands may have a more social function.  Humans are able smell these perfumes and may even distinguish between the scent of males and females. 

Shot Placement : Impala

Hunting Impala is best done in the early morning with little to no wind.  They are inclined to move less when the wind is blowing or temperatures are really low.  The afternoon hunting can be plagued by swirling warm air giving the game away and afternoon walking and stalking is often left as late as possible. 

Impala are dependent on surface water and will come to water twice a day – mid-morning and late afternoon, the times getting earlier and later depending on hunting pressure. 

The measurement of impala falls under SCI method used for animals with simple horns such as impala, reedbuck, springbuck, puku, hartebeest, duiker and dik-dik.  SCI measures the length of both horns and adds them to the circumference of both bases to obtain a total score.

Length of horn:
Measure the length of each horn on its front surface, following the front surface from the base of the horn to the tip.  Begin the measurement at the lowest place on the front surface of the horn, normally in the centre. 
If off-centre, card it off and begin the measurement from the front centre of the horn.  Keep parallel with the hair-like grain of the horn.  The measurement should go across the top of the knobs on the front surface where they are the largest, and not dip into the space between knobs.  The measurement ends at the horn tip.

Base circumference of horns:
Measure the circumference of each horn at the base, or as close to the base (or hairline) as possible, while holding the tape tightly in a continuous loop.  Keep the tape above (in direction of horn tip) any scallops or natural irregularities along the edge of the base, so the tape is on horn material and not bone and/or an air space if the horn is removed from the scull.  The measure should be at the same angle as the base of the horn, but it need not be at the same angle as the base.  Keep the tape tight and do not press into depressions.

IDENTIFICATION:
Medium sized animal with red-brown colouring and white belly.
Vertical black stripes on the buttocks.

SHOULDER HEIGHT: Male 88cm/female 83cm
CARCASS WEIGHT: Male 40kg/female 30kg (average)
HORNS: Males only.
SPOOR: 5-6cm x 4cm
DROPPINGS: Dark black and 15mm in size.

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