The range of the common impala is in blue.
The ubiquitous impala is sometimes referred to as the whitetail of Africa (simply
because there are fairly large numbers of them in most places, and because they are
similar in size to our white-tailed deer.) The impala is found in all but the driest
parts of southeastern Africa and are grazers and browsers. .Only the males have the
lyre-shaped horns. A good ram will have horns over 21 inches and will be around four
years old. Their bodies are slim and elegant. This tan-colored animal is graceful
and fun to watch. You may see solitary rams, but in general, they travel in herds;
sometimes mixed sexes, sometimes all rams. During mating season the territorial males
commonly fight with other males for females. When sitting in a blind in southern
Africa it is common to hear males fight, and more common to hear the many vocalizations
that accompany aggressive behavior. These two rams came from southern Zimbabwe in
1995.
HUNT DESCRIPTION
Below is photo of impala (left) and nyala (right). Note the ostrich in background.
I did not realize he was there until I got home and saw the photo.
The day I harvested the two impala on the wall was one of the most interesting and
unnerving days I’ve ever spent in Africa. I was in a tree blind with an apprentice
professional hunter from New Zealand. Early in the afternoon, I shot two wart hogs
for a camp meal with one arrow. Then I shot each of these impala around twenty minutes
apart. In mid-afternoon we heard voices, and the guide immediately knew something
was wrong because we were on private land and twenty miles from the nearest homes.
Two poachers approached carrying a lot of wire snares, a sawed-off 22 rifle, and
a large plastic bottle of water. They were filling that bottle with the ugly, scum-covered
pond water when my professional hunter shouted at them. They dropped everything and
ran off. Poaching is a major problem, and over all my eight bowhunts to Africa, it
was not uncommon to find dead animals in snares.