The only antelope that lives on kopjes and cliffs. Short body, massive hindquarters, and sturdy long legs. Stands on tips of truncated hotyves. Head wedge shaped on short neck, with big rounded ears. Occasionally present in females of East African race.
Scent glands Huge preorbital glands opening in bull's eye of naked black skin.
More widespread in distant past, relict populations persist on isolated mountains in Nigeria and the Central African Republic. Home may be a kopje on the open plain or an inselberg in the middle of a woodland. A hillside scree of loose rock, a cinder cone, even a level expanse of jagged lava rock are all places where the klipspringer's superior jumping ability and surefootedness enable it to escape terrestrial predators. Night activity remains unstudied. Both habits are adapted to open habitat where young and adults are exposed to eagles and ground predators.