Antelope (pair)

Antelope are most comonly reared in a family of pair, this comprises one male and one female. They are reared in a pen or free-range system. They are young adults, they will start reproducing at 15 months.

Antelopes belong to the family of Bovidae and appear mainly in Africa. They occupy a wide variety of habitats, including dry scrubland, savannah and grassland. The grassland antelope typically weighs between eight and 10kg. They have a reddish-brown head, large eyes and ears, and a soft, brown coat that is grizzled with grey, black and white hair.

The eyes are ringed with white hair. Only the males have horns, but may be hidden by a spiky forelock. Both males and females have an elongated, prehensile nose. Grassland antelopes tend to form monogamous mating pairs. The female bears one offspring after a gestation period of about five to six months. In the wild, they feed mainly on leaves, buds, shoots, roots, tubers, grasses, fruits, etc. But on domestication, they are fed with forage, wide range of fresh green vegetables and pasture, grass, cabbage, carrots, kitchen craps, corn mill waste and locally formulated antelope pellets/feed.

Antelope produce high quality meat, leather and highly sought-after exotic animal for hospitality and tourism business. While cattle select a limited number of grass species; antelopes choose a wider range. On the other hand, they generally require a cheaper diet than cattle. A more important thing is that antelopes are resistant to many diseases. Most, if not all, are resistant to trypanosomiasis, the disease carried by the tsetse fly.

Exotic animal of choice:
Exotic animal owners now want something more, something unique to help them stand out from others. When some hear “exotic” they think wild and dangerous. Exotic actually refers to a species that is not native or indigenous to the owner’s location. An exotic pet is a rare or unusual animal pet, or an animal kept within human households which are generally thought of as a wild species not typically kept as a pet.

Many people love owning the antelope as an exotic pet due to their beauty, rarity, elegance and long lifespan. Antelope is an animal of unique feature and this makes them tradable for tourist uses, recreation centres, zoos, research institutes, game reserves, holiday resorts, children amusement parks, royal families, etc. Antelopes are beautiful to behold and they attract tourist.

Products from antelope:
Antelopes are not only kept for their meat and tourist attraction, their skin, once tanned, can be exported to India, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain and even China to be made into high-quality leather products such as handbags, shoes, wallets, belts, drums, upholstery materials and wristwatch straps. Their hides are simply going to become fashion accessories for the wealthy.

The demand for antelope meat, especially the hide is higher than the hides of goats, sheep, alligators and pythons.

Antelope meat is a healthy super food, highly sort after in major restaurants across the country. It is also healthier than cattle meat