A Historical Perspective on the Identification of Substances in the Territorial Scent Marks of Male Klipspringer Antelope Oreotragus oreotragus

Abstract

Antelopes are territorial, hoofed mammals inhabiting the savannahs of eastern and southern Africa. They are richly endowed with skin glands. The male klipspringer antelope, Oreotragus oreotragus (Zimmermann 1783) (Ungulata: Artiodactyla), has well-developed antorbital glands that are frequently used to mark prominent features within its territory. In this chapter I discuss my research on scent marking by male klipspringer in the 1960s and compare my results to those obtained more recently by studies that were able to apply more sophisticated analytical techniques. This comparison provides evidence (1) for the outstanding progress of analytics within the course of nearly three decades and (2) for the validity of the early results obtained in 1968.