Blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi), West Coast National Park, South Africa

Description

The Blesbok or Blesbuck (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi) is an antelope with a distinctive white face and forehead. The Blesbok is indigenous to South Africa and is found in large numbers in all national parks with open grasslands, from the Transvaal Highveld, through the Free State veld, to as far south as the Eastern Cape. The Blesbok was hunted nearly to extinction because of its large numbers, but being protected since the late 19th-century its numbers have increased and today is sufficiently numerous so as not to be considered pressured, or endangered.