What Do Antelopes Eat? The Foods That They Love

Antelope is a broad term used to describe different species of ruminants that live in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes vary greatly in size, ranging from tiny, hare-sized species to large animals weighing up to 1,000 pounds. Although antelopes are often thought of as deer, they are not part of the deer family. Instead, they are cloven-hoofed ruminants that are more closely related to buffalo and bison. Continue reading to learn more about these interesting animals and discover what they eat.

What do Antelopes Eat?

Antelopes eat tree shoots, leaves, plants, grasses, and flowers.

As herbivores, antelopes stick to vegetation as their primary food source. When it comes to the specific types of plants that antelopes eat, knowing their location and species is essential. There are 91 antelope species, and most of them are found in Africa.

Antelopes will pick the most nutritious plants they can find. Two primary sources that antelopes feed on are bushes and small trees. Antelopes typically eat leaves, but they also eat a variety of grasses. Antelopes are most active during the daytime (diurnal) but prefer shade during the hottest parts of the day.

For many antelope species, feeding on leaves provides their primary source of water. Since they are in arid environments, this adaptation is highly advantageous.

Antelope Diets

Not all species of antelope have the same diet.

The Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) follows the rain to eat. In its native habitat of the Sahara Desert, finding food can be tough. When it rains in the desert, new plant growth can sprout almost immediately. Following the rains allows the addax to feast on these new sprouts as soon as they appear. This adaptation allows them to survive in one of the harshest climates in the world.

The Thomson’s gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii) takes a secondary approach to grazing. Instead of eating grasses directly, they follow behind larger herd animals to get the leftovers. While this may seem like an odd strategy, it’s actually the best way to get the tastiest morsels. When gnu and zebra comb through an area, they focus on the tough top layer of grass, leaving the tender shoots behind. This allows the gazelles access to the tender shoots that were previously hidden beneath the tougher grasses.

The blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) may have the most interesting diet of all the antelope species. Part of a blue duiker’s diet includes following flocks of birds and monkey troops to pick up discarded fruits that they are getting from trees. Since the duiker can’t reach the fruits, they let another animal do the hard work for them.

Royal antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus), the smallest antelope species, go into the woods at night to search the forest floor for leaves, fruits, and mushrooms.

Common foods that antelopes eat include:

• grasses
• grass shoots
• leaves
• tender roots
• tubers
• shrubs
• fruits
• mushrooms
• insects

For some antelope species, particularly browsers, leaves can make up a significant portion of their diet, while others, such as grazers, primarily eat grasses

Baby antelopes, called calves, typically nurse for 3 to 5 months on average, with significant weaning beginning around 12 weeks. While some species begin grazing within 2–3 weeks, others rely on their mother’s milk for the first few months.

How do Antelopes Digest Their Food?

Although antelopes may look like deer, they are actually more closely related to cattle, buffalo, and bison. The antelope digestive system includes a rumen, a specialized organ designed to process tough, fibrous plant material.

For antelopes eating tough grasses and leaves, their survival is dependent on their ability to break down the plants. The first step of the process is a quick chew, during which the food is mixed with saliva. As an antelope chews, it mixes the plant material with saliva, allowing enzymatic processes to begin. When they swallow the material, it goes into their rumen.

The rumen squeezes the material and starts fermenting it to break it down further. As the food is broken down by microbes, it becomes known as cud. The antelope will then regurgitate the cud and chew it again to further the digestive process.

After the cud has been chewed, the remaining mixture is sent to a separate chamber where the nutrients are absorbed. Ruminants (animals with a rumen) are essential for any ecosystem because they can convert large amounts of inedible calories (grasses) into meat for other animals.

Antelope Predators

Antelopes are not apex predators and, therefore, provide an important food source to many other creatures on the savannah. Lions, leopards, hyenas, wild dogs, cheetahs, pythons, and a host of other animals all eat antelope as a primary food source.

Additionally, humans play a role in the predation of antelopes. Aside from hunting (a common method of acquiring antelope meat), some cultures have managed to mildly domesticate certain species. Elands (Taurotragus oryx) have been domesticated and are kept on some farms in southern Africa, including Zimbabwe, where they can be a source of meat, milk, and hides, although this practice is not widespread.