Springboks are one of the most graceful members of the antelope family. They live on the prairies of Africa where they share the friendly company of zebras, giraffes, wildebeests and many others. However, they are sometimes victims of hungry lions that capture them by creeping up unseen and then making a sudden leap before there is opportunity to escape. Wild dogs are also among their enemies, but the dogs usually pick out the sick, old, or very young that have gotten away from the herd.
Springboks are well named, for one of the features that helps identify them is their practice of suddenly springing high in the air. They appear to do this often just for the fun of it. They seem to be one of the Creator’s happy animals. It is a lovely sight to see them leaping this way on their long, thin but strong legs.
Springboks are delicately colored animals, appearing to wear a tan cape over their backs and down the outsides of their legs. The remainder of their bodies is pure white. Crowning their heads is a pair of horns. These horns extend for about eighteen inches from their heads and gently curve forward at the top. Springboks have appealing white faces with stripes between the eyes and nose, as if skillfully sketched with soft crayons, large deer-like eyes and long, erect ears.
These animals, which do not search out shade while browsing, seem to prefer the open country with its extremely hot sunshine. Their usual food is the wild grasses of the prairie, but when these are hard to find they will substitute leaves and tender parts of shrubs and will even eat roots dug out of the ground with their sharp horns.
In times of drought and when food runs low, thousands together make long migrations to greener pastures. We might ask, “How do they know where to go and how do they know when to return?” Those who have studied their ways cannot answer these questions, but to us who know of the Creator’s care over all living things, it is not difficult to realize that He is the One who directs them to go and gives them the sense when it is time to return to their native land.
Several Bible verses declare this care so well: “These wait all upon Thee; that Thou mayest give them their meat [food] in due season. That Thou givest them they gather: Thou openest Thine hand, they are filled with good” (Psalm 104:2728). Have you thanked Him that His same loving hand is stretched out for you too? He invites every boy and girl to trust in Him and know Him as their loving and very own Saviour.
ML-04/27/2003