Bontebok  (Damaliscus pygargus)

Hunting for their meat and skins has bought both these subspecies close to the brink of extinction in the past. Bontebok numbers were severely reduced by the 1830s, but luckily farmers in the Bredasdorp area had the foresight to enclose the remaining wild bontebok on their land, saving this subspecies from extinction (5). Blesbok, which were hunted in their thousands, were also saved by protection on farms and game reserves (5). While hunting and trade of both subspecies still occurs, this is believed to be strictly controlled and so no longer a threat (1). Today, the main threat is hybridisation between the bontebok and blesbok (1), which, while this does not threaten the existence of the species, could result in the loss of these distinct and unique subspecies.

While the bontebok and blesbok sadly no longer roam wild in South Africa, the species' survival is now much more secure (2), although somewhat dependent on the continued existence of the farms and game reserves on which they occur. Both subspecies also occur in protected areas (1); one of which was created in 1931 to protect the last 30 bontebok left in the wild, the Bontebok National Park, South Africa (7).