Rutting reaches its peak in May

If you’ve visited Leopard’s View recently you’ll have become familiar with the variety of loud snorts and grunts emanating from the surrounding bush at all hours of the day and well into the night. Indeed, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the area is under siege by a large group of aggressive carnivores, hungry for their next meal! 

The culprit, however, is one far less glamorous and often overshadowed by the “big and hairies” of the bush – the impala.

For the majority of the year impala are found in two types of herd, bachelor groups comprising males of all ages, and breeding herds of adult females and youngsters. 

 

Come the end of January, however, bachelor herds break up as competition for territories gets under way. Rams attempt to hold those territories which females will find most attractive, such as those with good food and available water. Once a breeding herd enters a male’s territory he will try to keep them on his patch, whilst advertising his status to would-be challengers through patrolling, roaring and scent-marking vegetation. 

Males roar to advertise their status. Their skulls are modified to give greater resonance and so increase the volume of their roars.

May is the peak season of the rut, and with the females finally coming into oestrus the competition for territories is now at its fiercest. For the testosterone-fuelled males their days are divided into herding and mating with females and fighting other males – there is no time for feeding. Territory holding is such exhausting work that at this stage in the game, the average tenure is just 8 days! 

 

These two males treated us to a brilliant display of ‘horn-to-horn’ combat, so engrossed in their task that they remained completely oblivious to our presence!

Within a few weeks, however, the tournament will be over, all the females will have been mated and the bush will return to a state of relative peace and quiet.