The impala (Aepyceros melampus) is a medium-sized antelope in eastern and southern Africa. First described by German zoologist Hinrich Lichtenstein in 1812, it reaches 70–92 centimetres (28–36 inches) at the shoulder, weighs 40–76 kilograms (88–168 pounds), and has a glossy, reddish brown coat. The male's slender, lyre-shaped horns can reach 45–92 centimetres (18–36 in), measured along the curve. Active mainly during the day, the impala may be gregarious or territorial. Three distinct social groups can be observed – the territorial males, bachelor herds and female herds. Browsers as well as grazers, impala feed on monocots, dicots, forbs, fruits and acacia pods. An annual, three-week-long rut takes place toward the end of the wet season, typically in May, and gestation lasts six to seven months. Calves are suckled for four to six months. The impala is found close to water, in woodlands and sometimes at the interface between woodlands and savannahs. The common impala is widespread across its range and has been reintroduced in Gabon and southern Africa, but the black-faced subspecies has been classified as a vulnerable species.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impala
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
250:
Pope Fabian was martyred during a widespread persecution of Christians for refusing to demonstrate loyalty to the Roman Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Fabian
1877:
The Constantinople Conference concluded with the Great Powers declaring the need for political reforms that the Ottoman Empire refused to undertake, which later led to the Russo-Turkish War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantinople_Conference
1942:
The Holocaust: SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich and other senior Nazi officials met at the Wannsee Conference in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to discuss implementation of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wannsee_Conference
1969:
Bengali student activist Amanullah Asaduzzaman was shot and killed by East Pakistani police, one of the catalysts that led to the Bangladesh Liberation War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanullah_Asaduzzaman
2007:
A three-man team, using only skis and kites, completed a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the southern pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1958, and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pole_of_inaccessibility
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
aul: A village encampment in the Caucasus, Central Asia or the Southern Urals. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aul
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Sadly, the American dream is dead. But if I get elected president, I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again. --Donald Trump https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Donald_Trump