One of my favorite antelopes in South Africa is the Nyala. It is a spiral-horned antelope and a native. Their coats are rusty or rufous brown in females and juveniles but grow a dark brown or slate grey, often tinged with blue, in adult males. Females and young males have ten or more white stripes on their sides. Only males have horns. As a herbivore, the nyala feeds upon foliage, fruits, and grasses, close to freshwater. A shy animal, it prefers water holes rather than open spaces. Old males live alone, but single-sex or mixed family groups of up to 10 individuals can be found. These inhabit thickets within dense and dry savanna woodlands. The main predators of the nyala are lion, leopard and wild dogs, while baboons and raptorial birds hunt for the juveniles. On each trip, we see them carefully watching us.
