Panorama of grazing springbok antelope in Etosha National Park, Namibia

by Rietje Bulthuis

Panorama of grazing springbok antelopes in Etosha National Park, Namibia. Zebras and wildebeests can also be seen in the background.
The Etosha National Park in Namibia is one of the largest nature parks in southern Africa. Already in 1907, after the war between the Germans and the Herero's, the park was founded.
Etosha consists for a large part of a huge salt pan, surrounded by dry bushveld.
Typical for Etosha are the large amounts of game that can be 'spotted', elephants, zebras, lions, different kinds of antelopes, etc. Natural and artificial water drinking places help the game population to survive in the dry season. The large flow of tourists that visits Etosha every year makes a substantial contribution to the GDP of Namibia.
The springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) is a medium-sized species of antelope with a height at the withers of about 75 cm. The animal weighs up to 40 kg.
The animal owes its name to the high jumps it can make. Part of the purpose is to shake off chasing predators, to warn its kind, but the animal also tends to jump straight up with four legs, a behaviour that is called 'showing off'.