Wild Animals

Searching for the different types of mountain goats often leads to confusing lists filled with ibex, tahrs, wild sheep, and goat-antelopes. Scientifically, however, the answer is much simpler: there is only one living mountain goat species, Oreamnos americanus. Rocky Mountain goat, snow goat, and white goat are alternate names for the same North American animal, […]

There are seven currently recognized types of dik-diks in the Mammal Diversity Database: Günther’s, Kirk’s, Salt’s, silver, Naivasha, Damara, and Ugogo dik-diks. Older field guides often list only four species because they combine the Naivasha, Damara, and Ugogo forms within Kirk’s dik-dik. This difference is a matter of changing taxonomy, not the discovery of three […]

There are three traditionally recognized types of springbok, all belonging to the species Antidorcas marsupialis. These graceful antelopes inhabit the dry grasslands, shrublands, and semi-desert regions of southern and southwestern Africa. They are famous for their distinctive brown-and-white coats, curved horns, remarkable speed, and spectacular jumping display known as pronking. This guide explains the appearance, […]

Duikers are small to medium-sized African antelopes famous for diving into dense vegetation when danger approaches. The 22 commonly listed types of duikers vary from the tiny blue duiker to the powerful yellow-backed duiker. Most inhabit tropical forests, but the widespread common duiker also thrives in savannas, shrublands, and other open habitats. This guide covers […]

There are two commonly recognized types of impalas: the widespread common impala and the much more localized black-faced impala. Both are graceful African antelopes known for reddish coats, remarkable jumping ability, social herds, and the long, lyre-shaped horns carried by adult males. This guide explains how the two impala types differ in appearance, size, geographic […]

There are two recognized types of elands: the common eland and the giant eland. Both are enormous spiral-horned antelopes native to Africa, but they differ in distribution, markings, habitat preferences, and conservation needs. This guide explains how to identify each species, where elands live, what they eat, how they behave, and what wildlife watchers should […]