Do you know the feeling you get when you’re so hungry you can’t wait to stuff as much food into your mouth as possible? In this strange footage, it seems this small antelope soon came to regret such a decision.
Lambert Fourie shared this amusing occurrence with Latest Sightings. He filmed it while visiting South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
One of Kruger’s smaller antelopes
As we join Lambert at the sighting, we see one of Kruger’s smaller antelope species. It is a grey, or common, duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia).
They inhabit savannas, woodlands, brushlands, grasslands, and mountainous areas with sufficient cover across sub-Saharan Africa. We can tell this is a female in that she lacks the ear-length, straight horns of the male.
Dietary adaptability
The duiker has found something tasty to eat. For the most part, their diet consists of a variety of leaves, flowers, fruits, and tubers.
Strangely, they have also been known to eat insects, frogs, small birds, mammals, and even carrion. This dietary adaptability allows them to thrive where most species can’t.
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A big mouthful
However, as we watch, it soon becomes apparent that the antelope may have bitten off more than she can chew. Although we can’t tell you what plant it came from, she has a mouthful of seed pods.
Since the pods come in a springy cluster, she isn’t able to manoeuvre them to the back of her mouth for chewing. And this isn’t helped by the fact that antelopes are generally not known for their jaw strength.
Pre-orbital scent gland
As she turns her head, you’ll notice a small dark area in front of and slightly below her eye. This is called a preorbital scent gland.
Male duikers rub these glands against rocks and plants to mark their territory.
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Packed with goodness
No matter what she does, the poor duiker cannot find any purchase for her molars on the pods. Perhaps it would have been better if she’d nibbled them off one by one.
As a ruminant, it is vital that she first chews the pods before swallowing. Doing so improves the efficiency of its four-chambered digestive system.
Even so, it is clear that she is reluctant to spit it out and find something easier to swallow. And rightly so, since seed pods are the most nutritious parts of a plant, packed with concentrated fuel, minerals, and defensive compounds.
Accepting the inevitable
For several minutes, the duiker does all she can to break down the stubborn cluster.
However, eventually, she has to concede that this is one meal she won’t get to enjoy.
Ultimately, she has to accept defeat and drop the cluster. After all, you can’t spend all day wasting energy on chewing something that is supposed to give you energy.
