Physical Description
The impala greatly resembles the springbok in physical features. Impalas are sexually dimorphic. They are 75 and 95 cm (30 and 37 in) tall. Average mass for a male impala is 40 to 75 kg (88 to 170 lb), while females weigh about 30 to 50 kg (66 to 110 lb). The coat is short and glossy, normally reddish-brown in colour (hence the Afrikaans name rooibok, not to be confused with rhebok. They have lighter flanks and white underbellies with a characteristic "M" marking on the rear.
Only the males, referred to as rams, have lyre-shaped horns, which can reach up to 45–92 cm (18–36 in) in length. Females, referred to as ewes lack horns. It has distinctive black and white stripes running down the rump and the tail. The black impala, found in very few places in Africa, is an extremely rare type. A recessive gene causes the black coloration in these animals. Impalas have scent glands covered in the fur of the back feet and sebaceous glands on the head.
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