Editing Impala (section)

{{Short description|Medium-sized antelope found in Africa}}
{{other uses|Impala (disambiguation)}}
{{featured article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{EngvarB|date=May 2016}}
{{Speciesbox
| name                  = Impala
| status                = LC
| status_system         = IUCN3.1
| status_ref            = <ref name="iucn status 12 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group |date=2016 |title=''Aepyceros melampus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T550A50180828 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T550A50180828.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}</ref>
| image                 = {{CSS image crop
| Image                 = Impala (Aepyceros melampus) male Kruger.jpg
| bSize                 = 400
| cWidth                = 220
| cHeight               = 240
| oTop                  = 20
| oLeft                 = 80
}}
| image_caption         = Male
| image2                = Impalas (Aepyceros melampus) female and young (11421993164).jpg
| image2_caption        = Female with calf<br> both in [[Kruger National Park]], South Africa
| taxon                 = Aepyceros melampus
| authority             = ([[Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein|Lichtenstein]], 1812)
| display_parents       = 2
| subdivision_ranks     = Subspecies
| subdivision           = 
* ''A. m. melampus'' <small>Lichtenstein, 1812</small>
* ''A. m. petersi'' <small>[[José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage|Bocage]], 1879</small>
| synonyms_ref          = <ref name=MSW3 />
| synonyms              = {{collapsible list|List=
|''A. holubi'' <small>Lorenz, 1894</small>
|''A. johnstoni'' <small>[[Oldfield Thomas|Thomas]], 1893</small>
|''A. katangae'' <small>[[Einar Lönnberg|Lönnberg]], 1914</small>
|''A. pallah'' <small>([[Paul Gervais|Gervais]], 1841)</small>
|''A. rendilis'' <small>Lönnberg, 1912</small>
|''A. typicus'' <small>Thomas, 1893</small>
}}
| range_map             = Aepyceros melampus.svg
| range_map_caption     = Distribution:
<div style="text-align:left; ">{{Legend2|green|Black-faced impala|border=1px solid #aaa}}<br /> {{Legend2|blue|Common impala|border=1px solid #aaa}} </div>
}}

The '''impala''' or '''rooibok''' ('''''Aepyceros melampus''''', lit. 'black-footed high-horn' in [[Ancient Greek]]) is a medium-sized [[antelope]] found in [[East Africa|eastern]] and [[southern Africa]]. The [[monotypic taxon|only]] [[Extant taxon|extant]] member of the [[genus]] ''[[Aepyceros]]'', and tribe [[Aepycerotini]], it was first [[scientific description|described]] to Europeans by German zoologist [[Hinrich Lichtenstein]] in 1812. Two [[subspecies]] are recognised—the grassland-dwelling '''common impala''' (sometimes referred to as the '''Kenyan impala'''), and the larger and darker '''black-faced impala''', which lives in slightly more arid, scrubland environments. The impala reaches {{cvt|70|–|92|cm}} at the shoulder and weighs {{cvt|40|–|76|kg|lb}}. It features a glossy, reddish brown [[coat (animal)|coat]]. The male's slender, [[lyre]]-shaped [[Horn (anatomy)|horns]] are {{cvt|45|–|92|cm}} long.

Active mainly [[diurnality|during the day]], the impala may be [[gregarious]] or [[Territory (animal)|territorial]] depending upon the climate and geography. Three distinct social groups can be observed: the territorial males, bachelor herds and female herds. The impala is known for two characteristic leaps that constitute an anti-[[predation|predator]] strategy. [[Browsing (herbivory)|Browsers]] as well as grazers, impala feed on [[monocot]]s, [[dicot]]s, [[forb]]s, [[fruit]]s and [[Acacieae|acacia]] pods (whenever available). An annual, three-week-long [[Rut (mammalian reproduction)|rut]] takes place toward the end of the wet season, typically in May. Rutting males fight over [[Dominance (ethology)|dominance]], and the victorious male courts females in [[oestrus]]. [[Gestation]] lasts six to seven months, following which a single calf is born and immediately concealed in cover. Calves are [[lactation|suckled]] for four to six months; young males—forced out of the all-female groups—join bachelor herds, while females may stay back.

The impala is found in woodlands and sometimes on the interface ([[ecotone]]) between woodlands and [[savanna]]hs; it inhabits places near water. While the black-faced impala is confined to southwestern [[Wildlife of Angola|Angola]] and [[Kaokoland]] in northwestern [[Wildlife of Namibia|Namibia]], the common impala is widespread across its range and has been reintroduced in [[Wildlife of Gabon|Gabon]] and southern Africa. The [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) classifies the impala as a [[least concern|species of least concern]]; the black-faced subspecies has been classified as a [[vulnerable species]], with fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in the wild as of 2008.