Residents of the Namib desert #1 Photo

Photographer’s Note

Residents of the Namib desert: Klipspringer; rocky desert, not far from Swakopmund.

The Klipspringer - literally "rock jumper" in Afrikaans - (Oreotragus oreotragus)is a small African antelope that lives from the Cape of Good Hope all the way up East Africa and into Ethiopia.
Reaching approximately 58 cm (22 inches) at the shoulder, Klipspringers are relatively small animals compared to some of their larger antelope cousins. Only the males have horns that are usually about 20-25 cm (4-6 inches) long. They stand on the tips of their hooves.

With a thick and dense speckled "salt and pepper" patterned coat of an almost olive shade, Klipspringers blend in well with the koppies (rock outcrops, pronounced "copies") on which they can usually be found.

Klipspringers are herbivores, eating rock plants. They never need to drink, since the succulents they subsist on provide them with enough water to survive.

Klipspringers are strictly monogamous, and are usually seen within a few feet of their mate. The basic pair behavior relative to predators is that, while one klipspringer eats, the other acts as a lookout. Males are strongly territorial, and it's territorial dominance extends over five to ten acres.
The mating season for Klipspringers is from September through to January.

after Wikipedia

kyrosteinius, evanrizo, Dpbours, peck has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

mikeo (12117) 2008-02-04 9:50

Witaj Andrzeju,

Ale swietna modelka (model?)...
I jak pieknie spoglada...
I na jakich pieknych skalkach sobie biega...
Niesamowite barwy, swietna ostrosc, piekne swiatlo...

Tylko pozazdroscic takich wypraw.
Pozdrowionka
Mikeo

japiey (9515) 2008-02-04 10:09

Hi Andrzej,

Fantastic shot from the rocky desert.. with the staring rock jumper.
Excellent tones and fine lights.
A good shot with detailed notes.
All the best.

jean paul

Fis2 (46341) 2008-02-04 11:10

Witaj Andrzejku!
Ale ladnie Ci zapozowala (a co to za zwierzak?). Ciekawy kadr, jak zawsze egzotyczne kolory. Piekne swiatlo i ostrosc.
Pozdrawiam
Krzysztof

tedesse (13212) 2008-02-04 11:35

Witaj!
Fantastycznie upolowane,dobra ostro¶æ.
Imponuj±ca notatka.
Pozdrawiam
Tadeusz

emka (22257) 2008-02-04 11:49

Witaj,

Miła ta antylopka skacząca po skałach. Z zainteresowaniem na Ciebie patrzy. Zlewa się z otoczeniem niesamowicie. Ma śmieszne uszy, czy rogi. Wygląda mi trochę na ciężarną samicę.

Pozdrawiam

Małgorzata

abettine (429) 2008-02-04 13:00

Bonsoir Andrezj,
Très jolie composition, qui me fait penser à une photographie de Art wolf : l'animal se camoufle en étant dans les mêmes tons que son décor. Bravo.
Antoine.

evanrizo (456) 2008-02-05 3:18

Hi Andrzej,
The sharpness, the clearness of this photo is superb, so we can see very very good the deer in an environment that is very similar.
Have a nice night.
Evangelos
tomorrow..

mark88 (5854) 2008-02-05 4:10

Bardzo ładnie przypozowała do zdjęcia.
Pozdrawiam, Marek.

Dpbours (220) 2008-02-05 8:44

Hi Andrzej,

What a great colour to hide in these rocky locations. They blend in very nicely. Like the composition being zoomed out a little bit, showing us a bit of the living environment of this Klipspringer. Interesting note! Wondering now if there are more animals that never drink.
Thanks for sharing!

Greetings, Dennis

sayat (2944) 2008-02-06 7:39

Very beautiful shot! It is great to see how good these animals blend in the background colors of the place. Your composition that places the subject off center is very nice.

Ber (7576) 2008-02-10 13:02

Zgrabna modelka i jaka sprawna fizycznie! Niedostepna... Trzeba miec oko zeby ja wypatrzec.
Pozdrawiam

bibik (2784) 2008-02-13 1:09