Impala rams sparring
Aepyceros melampus
Impala · Masai Mara · 20 February 2020
Two impala rams locking horns in the long grass of the Mara. Impala are the antelope of the wooded savanna edge across East and Southern Africa, the ones you see most and photograph least, and in the breeding season the males spend their days on exactly this.
A test of strength rather than a fight to the death, and one that rarely draws blood: the ridged, lyre-shaped horns are built to interlock exactly like this, letting rivals push and twist without either landing a tip somewhere it would do real damage. Impala rotate breeding rights through much of the male population rather than concentrating them in a few animals for years. A dominant male holds a territory only as long as he can defend it against constant challenges like this one, which is often a matter of weeks.
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