Springbok - Definition and Overview

Springbok Conservation status: Vulnerable
Springbok in Etosha National Park, Namibia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Subfamily: Antilopinae Genus: Antidorcas Species: marsupialis
Binomial name
Antidorcas marsupialis (Zimmermann, 1780)

The Springbok (Afrikaans: spring = jump; bok = antelope, deer, or goat) (Antidorcas marsupialis) is a small brown and white antelope that stands about 75 cm high. The males can weigh up to 50 kg and the females up to 37 kg.

It inhabits the dry inland areas of central and western South Africa, and can run at a speed of 80 kilometres per hour (50 miles per hour). When startled, the Springbok leaps repeatedly up to 6 meters (20 feet) into the air in a practice known as "pronking" (Afrikaans: pronk = to show off).

National Symbol

The springbok was the national symbol of South Africa under white minority rule (including a significant period prior to the establishment of Apartheid), being adopted by a number of South African sports teams to describe themselves, most famously by the national rugby team. It appeared on the emblems of the South African Air Force, the logo of South African Airways (for which it is still also their radio callsign) and the national coat of arms. It also featured as the logo of 'South Africa's Own Car', the Ranger, in the early 1970s.

The Springbok is currently the national animal of South Africa.

After the demise of apartheid, the ANC government decreed that South African sporting teams were to be known as the Proteas. The rugby team still maintain the name Springboks, however, after the intervention of then-president Nelson Mandela, who did so as a gesture of goodwill to the mainly white (and largely Afrikaner) rugby supporters.

See also: South Africa national rugby union team, known as the Springboks.