Have you ever seen an animal that looks like a deer, jumps like a kangaroo and runs as fast as a race car? That’s the springbok! This breathtaking and iconic animal is South Africa’s national animal and one of the most famous creatures on the African savanna. The springbok even represents South Africa in rugby, where the national team is called the Springboks.
The word springbok comes from Afrikaans: spring means jump, and bok means antelope or goat. Put them together, and you get “jumping antelope”, which makes sense because Springboks are known for their playful leaps, called pronking. They can jump more than two meters (that’s as tall as a door in your classroom!) and run up to 88 kilometers per hour (55 m.p.h.). That’s faster than most cars drive in the city.
Math moment: If a springbok can leap two meters high and you can jump 0.5 meters high, how many of your jumps would equal one springbok leap?
At first glance, you might think a springbok looks like a regular antelope (don't worry, I did, too), but you have to look closer. It’s covered in special patterns! A springbok has cinnamon-colored fur on top, a bright white belly underneath and a dark brown stripe running along its side like a racing stripe.
