All of us earn nicknames at one time or another. Impalas, beautiful small-sized reddish antelopes, are sometimes called the “McDonald’s of Africa” for two very good reasons. First, they have a distinctive “M” shaped mark on their behinds like the McDonad’s Golden Arches, as the video below shows. And second, it seems that just about every predator in Africa enjoys eating impalas for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.
Impalas have decent evasive skills to make up for their smaller size. They can jump distances over 30 feet and up to 8 feet high. Also, herds have learned to leap in various directions in order to confuse predators. Most of the time, impalas try to avoid being startled and they can thankfully rely on their excellent sense of hearing, sight, and smell. When they feel safe, they like to graze quietly on grasses and woody plants.
