One of those joys is the periodic visits to our yard and garden of two dear little Klipspringer antelope. -Klipspringer meaning 'rock-leaper' in Africaans.
Their Scientific name is ….get ready for it….Oreotragus oreotragus (meaning mountain he-goat). No, I haven't made a mistake, both words are the same. Klipspringers are the only ones in their genus category. Their closest 'relative' is the dik-dik (yes as mentioned in Jungle Doctor books!). They stand just over 40cm at the shoulder.
They quietly wander in and browse on plants in our garden which they especially seem to think are tasty - thankfully the ones they choose are ones that are plentiful in our garden. They also browse very delicately on their small and fine hooves, and unlike monkeys or baboons, don't appear to do any real damage to the garden. So they are welcome visitors which delight us with their visits. When monkeys or baboons visit, it means immediate effort to shoo them off before they do massive amounts of damage to the garden and drain our plunge-pool like its their ever-ready watering hole! But to have the Klipspringer visit is relaxing and enjoyable…
...all except one time when one of them tried to see if they could drink from the pool and fell in!…
...thankfully it was a time we were watching and we were able after multiple attempts, to get her out! (you see we couldn't just jump in and pick her up, because, as my husband wisely pointed out, their hooves are sharp and pointed and as they would push against us they would probably rip our chest apart! - thankfully my husband was present with his knowledge, as after we had finally set her free from probably her first baptism and swim, we discovered that the pool cover (thermal blanket) that was on the pool when it happened, ended up with 'hoof' sized neat round puncture holes in it where she had tried swimming across it!
Anyhow we were glad we were both home and watching, on the occasion they decided to try out that source of drinking water, so that now they know and hopefully won't try it again. We've not see either of them go anywhere near the pool since.
But that was just ONE of many reminders/lessons God has brought to us via these beautiful little creatures - God's care
- that God so took care of them so that they tested it out, found it to be dangerous so wouldn't go near it again, but made sure they did it when we were home, so that we were here to make the rescue and we are more at peace as well that we won't come home one day to find one of them dead and drowned in the pool.
The verse from Matthew 6:30 comes to mind 'If God so clothes the grass of the field….will he not much more clothe you?'. If God cares for other parts of creation that are not 'made in his image', then how much more will he care for us.
But anyhow, back to the joys of their visits…..
The 2nd lesson from our two Klipspringer is - faithfulness - they monogomously mate for life.
We only ever see them, on their own, but together. There is no 'herd' of Klipspringers. And we never see just one of them on their own. They are totally devoted to each other until 'death do they part'. So they could teach we humans a thing or two!…after all if two Klipspringers can stick together for life, why can't humans! They don't seem to be worried that they are 'missing out' on whatever other Klipspringers might be doing, they are just devoted to each other and happy with each other's company, forever!
A verse to remember: Genesis 2:24 'A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife'
The 3rd lesson is - sacrificial love
As I was watching these two creatures one day I realised something interesting. As one would graze, the other would not. In fact the one 'not grazing' would always be on alert and look-out, like a sentry, and often that meant standing on top of one of our stone walls, while the other one was grazing below. Even if they are no walls around, the 'lookout' one would put their two front hooves on a rock to elevate them so they could see around and watch out for the one that was more vulnerable while having its head down and eating. They never seemed to be both eating at the same time. In fact immediately when the one on the wall decided to jump down to eat, the other would stop and jump up on the wall, and they would 'swap' being the lookout. And it didn't seem to matter which of them moved first, the other one would just shift role. The female looked out for the male and the male looked out for the female, however it was needed.
The 4th lesson - looks aren't everything
The 'man' in this pair, isn't exactly the perfect specimen, he's quite a bit smaller than the female (when Klipspringer males are usually larger than females) and his stubby antlers are not even the same length and look like they may have even got broken off. But 'Mrs' is dedicated to her man and is mostly right by his side - or at least within his sight, never more than a few meters apart (except when she fell into the pool and he ran off to the protection of the bush when we entered the scene). Maybe he had an accident with his horns, or maybe he's just genetically 'quirky', either way she's stuck with him through thick and thin, whatever his physical abnormalites or uniqueness.
Remember 1 Samuel 16:7: 'Man looks at the outward appearance but God looks at the heart'
The 5th lesson - rocky ground is no hindrance
These beautiful little antelope are 'custom made'. Not only are they the only antelope in their genus, their bodies/feet are designed for rocky ground. They walk on their 'tippy toes' like a ballerina across the rocks and their hooves are made of a kind of hard rubber to cushion their amazing spring-loaded running jumps. While other antelope might like the ease of flat smooth paths, these guys are not afraid of tough terrain. They almost seem to prefer to pass through our yard via the tops of the rock walls! But why should they fear, their Creator made them for the task he had for them. Just like He doesn't put us in places He hasn't designed us for - both with our unique traits and the faithful enabling of our maker and redeemer.
Psalm 139:4
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!
But I do have to just tell you that they have the prettiest bi-colour ears, and the most beautiful long black eye-lashes! Times of them in our garden are some of my most special African experiences!
We do hope we might continue to see them visit…with maybe a baby one next year (they usually mate in Aug-Sep and gestation is 6months)…and we pray that their predators might leave them alone for a while at least, because we do have a few of their predators living on our hillside - baboons, snakes and leopard! Because of predators they keep their babies hidden away in the bush for at least 3 months so the 'baby' might not be so small by the time we see it.
But while some people come to Africa to see the 'Big 5' (Rhino, Elephant, Leopard, Buffalo and Lion), I think these little antelope are pretty special!
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