A is For Antelope

From the time I could walk until I left Zambia at 22, my dad was always pointing out the different kinds of antelope on our yearly trips down through Zimbabwe to South Africa to visit the relatives, or on our journeys to the Congo, Malawi, Tanganyika or Kenya. There are over 91 species of the animal, from the eland, to the gerenuk, impala, kudo, roan, sable and springbok. I often mistook one for the other, well, except for the springbok, symbol of South African rugby, but I never mistook the dik-dik, my favorite. These graceful dwarf antelopes are about the size of a fox terrier, with almost no tail and a small tuft of hair on the head. At maturity they weigh up to 12 pounds and are 14 inches tall at the shoulder. And wow, can they zig-zag and bounce when chased by a larger animal.