Springbok Hunting

The Springbok is a medium sized brown and white gazelle that stands about 70 to 87 cm (28 to 34 in) high. Springbok males weigh between 73 to 110 lbs. They can reach running speeds of up to 50 to 56 mph and can leap 3.50 m and can long jump of up to 15 m. Their colouring consists of three colours, white, reddish/tan and dark brown. Their backs are tan coloured and at the bottom they are white, along each side there is a dark brown stripe extending from the shoulder on towards the inside thigh. The Springbok name derives from a pocket-like skin flap which extends along the middle of the back from the tail onwards. When the male springbok is showing off his strength to attract a mate, or to ward off predators, he starts off in a stiff-legged trot, jumping up into the air with an arched back every few paces and lifting the flap along his back. Lifting the flap causes the long white hairs under the tail to stand up in a conspicuous fan shape, which in turn emits a strong floral scent of sweat. This ritual is known as pronking from the Afrikaans, meaning to boast or show off.

Springbok often go into bouts of repeated high leaps (up to 13 feet) into the air in a practice known as “pronking” (Afrikaans and Dutch: pronk = to show off) or “stotting”. While pronking, the Springbok leaps back into the air as soon as it comes down, with its back bowed and the white fan lifted. While the exact cause of this behaviour is unknown, springboks exhibit this activity when they are nervous or otherwise excited. One theory is that pronking is meant to indicate to predators that they have been spotted. Another is that Springbok show off their individual strength and fitness so that the predator will go for another (presumably weaker) member of the group. Another opinion is that Springboks and other similar antelopes do this to spray a hormone that is secreted from a gland near the heel.

Complimentary with All of Our Springbok Hunts

• 3 days and 2 nights lodging
• Meals and beverages throughout the hunt
• 1 on 1 guide
• Airport transportation
• Full trophy care (field dressing, capping, quartering trophy for transportation)
• Varmint hunting
• Trophy fishing
• Gun and bow range

Springbok prices – $5,500