I
first met the Topi on safari in 2006. Before that, I don’t know if I knew they existed.
Of course, I should admit I don’t think that I knew half the animals of East
Africa existed until then and I’m pretty sure I thought that there was only one
type of antelope. No, I take that back, I knew there was an impala, and that’s
just coz Mom owned a Chevrolet impala when I was a kid (it was a white boat of a car and was
replaced in the mid-1970s by an AMC matador – now that car brings back
memories, but I digress).
The
topi is a medium-sized antelope with a deep red-brown coat and distinct black
patches on the face, the upper forelegs, and on the hips and thighs. His tan legs make it look like he is wearing stockings. He is a beautiful
creature.
Although
not quite as large as his relative the hartebeest, the topi has a similar body
shape. The female topi is usually lighter in color than the male. Both sexes
have thick, heavily ringed horns that are about 21 inches long.
The
topi is a picky eater, eating only grass. If they have access to plenty of
green grass, they can go without water for long periods of time.
They
are extroverted and even mingle outside of their species, such as with wildebeest
and zebras, which we witnessed a lot. Sometimes it was hard to tell if the
topis knew just what herd they belonged to.
1 comment:
They are beautiful. I wish I could pet them all. I think if I had a magic lamp my 1st wish would be to hug all the wild animals expecially Polar Bears although "our Simba" ranks darn close.
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