Antelopes of Southern Africa – Part 1

Southern Africa is home to an extraordinary variety of antelopes, each shaped by a particular landscape. From the floodplains of the Okavango Delta to the seasonal grasslands and open pans of Nxai Pan, the vast expanses of the Kgalagadi, the woodlands of South Luangwa and the banks of the Lower Zambezi, they are among the animals that define these places.

This gallery brings together the work of four photographers – Jenny Brennan, Dani Free, Alexandra George and Steve Segall – across Botswana, South Africa and Zambia. Among the species represented are bushbuck, gemsbok (oryx), greater kudu, impala, red hartebeest, red lechwe, roan, springbok, steenbok, tsessebe and waterbuck. Intimate portraits sit alongside photographs of antelopes within the landscapes they inhabit, revealing both the diversity of the species and the environments on which they depend.

The photographs are grouped largely by region, with one departure: a helicopter flight over the Okavango Delta. Seen from above, the familiar landscape is transformed. Herds of lechwe and tsessebe become part of the patterns of floodplains, grass and water, while lechwe galloping and leaping across the terrain reveal movement from an entirely different perspective.

Together, these photographs offer different ways of seeing the antelopes of southern Africa: close at hand, within their habitats and, for a brief moment, from the air. The journey continues in Part 2 of Antelopes of Southern Africa, appearing in the next Gallery.