The springbok or springbuck (Antidorcas marsupialis) is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa.

The sole member of the genus Antidorcas, this bovid was first described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1780.

The springbok is characterised by a white face, a dark stripe running from the eyes to the mouth, a light brown coat marked by a reddish-brown stripe that runs from the upper foreleg to the buttocks across the flanks like the Thomson's gazelle, and a white rump flap.

In earlier times, springbok of the Kalahari Desert and Karoo migrated in large numbers across the countryside, a practice known as trekbokking.

The common name "springbok", first recorded in 1775, comes from the Afrikaans words spring ("jump") and bok ("antelope" or "goat").

The specific epithet marsupialis comes from the Latin marsupium ("pocket"), and refers to a pocket-like skin flap which extends along the midline of the back from the tail,[3] which distinguishes the springbok from true gazelles.

[6] In 1845, Swedish zoologist Carl Jakob Sundevall placed the springbok as the sole living member of the genus Antidorcas.

[7] Three subspecies of Antidorcas marsupialis are recognised:[2][8] Fossil springbok are known from the Pliocene; the antelope appears to have evolved about three million years ago from a gazelle-like ancestor.

Fossils dating back to 80 and 100 thousand years ago have been excavated at Herolds Bay Cave (Western Cape Province, South Africa) and Florisbad (Free State), respectively.

The forehead patch, dark brown or fawn, extends beyond the level of the eyes and mixes with the white of the face without any clear barriers.

After weaning, female juveniles stay with their mothers until the birth of their next calves, while males join bachelor groups.

Group size and distance from roads and bushes were found to have major influence on vigilance, more among the grazing springbok than among their browsing counterparts.

[16] During the rut, males establish territories, ranging from 10 to 70 hectares (25 to 173 acres),[2] which they mark by urinating and depositing large piles of dung.

[3] Males in neighbouring territories frequently fight for access to females, which they do by twisting and levering at each other with their horns, interspersed with stabbing attacks.

[2] In pronking, the springbok performs multiple leaps into the air in a stiff-legged posture, with the back bowed and the white flap lifted.

Lifting the flap causes the long white hairs under the tail to stand up in a conspicuous fan shape, which in turn emits a strong scent of sweat.

[20] Cheetahs, lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, wild dogs, caracals, crocodiles and pythons are major predators of the springbok.

[2] Springbok are generally quiet animals, though they may make occasional low-pitched bellows as a greeting and high-pitched snorts when alarmed.

[3] A 2012 study on the effects of rainfall patterns and parasite infections on the body of the springbok in Etosha National Park observed that males and juveniles were in better health toward the end of the rainy season.

[21] Springbok are primarily browsers and may switch to grazing occasionally; they feed on shrubs and young succulents (such as Lampranthus species) before they lignify.

Springbok may accomplish this by selecting flowers, seeds, and leaves of shrubs before dawn, when the food items are most succulent.

[13] Females are able to conceive at as early as six to seven months, whereas males do not attain sexual maturity until two years;[4] rut lasts 5 to 21 days.

The Transvaal marks the eastern limit of the range, from where it extends westward to the Atlantic and northward to southern Angola and Botswana.

They are widespread across Namibia and the vast grasslands of the Free State and the shrublands of Karoo in South Africa; however, they are confined to the Namib Desert in Angola.

These migrations are rarely seen nowadays, but seasonal congregations can still be observed in preferred areas of short vegetation, such as the Kalahari Desert.

[28] In 1999, Rod East of the IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group estimated the springbok population in South Africa at more than 670,000, noting that it might be an underestimate.

[33] The pH of the meat increases if the springbok is under stress or cropping is done improperly; consequently, the quality deteriorates and the colour darkens.

Biltong can be prepared by preserving the raw meat with vinegar, spices, and table salt, without fermentation, followed by drying.

Even after the decline of apartheid, Nelson Mandela intervened to keep the name of the animal for the reconciliation of rugby fans, the majority of whom were whites.

[38][39] The cap badge of The Royal Canadian Dragoons has featured a springbok since 1913, a reference to the unit's involvement in the Second Boer War.