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A single Bontebok ram stands on a misty plain bathed in a soft golden morning  glow. Once the rarest antelope in the world this species future is assured.

Rescued from certain extinction by a dutch farmer in the early 20th century when he coralled the last 17 wild antelope. In 1931 they were relocated to the Bontebok National Park which was promulgated with the explicit purpose of conserving the species. Currently the population is estimated at 3000 individuals and this is increasing as they are bred and farmed.

They are such beautiful antelope and I battle to understand how they were viewed as pests but I guess it was different times.

Related to a common Tsessebe and resembling a Blesbok whose patch around the tail is tan, Bontebok occur in Fynbos  and Renosterveld vegetation. Thanks to the fact that they are not great jumpers and couldn’t escape from their enclosure that Alexander vd Bijl constructed and some visionary efforts, it is possible to view these beautiful antelope.

I photographed this fine ram on a misty morning on the plains of De Hoop nature reserve where there is a healthy population. They are also found in the Bontebok National Park, Cape Point Nature Reserve and the West Coast National Park.