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>
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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>
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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>
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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>