Episode Information

For many of us the word ‘antelope’ is a blanket term for all the grass-eaters of the African sa-vanna but look closer and you’ll discover a remarkably diverse group of animals. And while they represent food to many hunters, there is so much more to antelope than ready meals for meat eat-ers. In fact there are nearly one hundred different species that come under the ‘antelope’ ban-ner, and in all shapes and sizes. Some species are easy to miss, the little dik-dik being barely the size of a house cat, while eland weigh in at more than half a ton. And though we might initially place antelope in Africa, there are representatives roaming through a huge swathe of the planet – from the Mongolian Plateau in Asia to the southern cape of South Africa. Wherever you find them, these remarkable animals are the unsung heroes of the plains.