The impala is a reddish-brown antelope inhabiting African grasslands and woodland.
Only males have curved horns. The belly is white, with black lines on the tail and hind legs.
During the breeding season, male impalas combine low roars with explosive snorts through the nose. Their vocal bouts can include calls with different patterns of exhalation and inhalation.
Research published in 2021 examined male vocalizations recorded at Okambara Elephant Ranch, Namibia, from 1 to 28 May 2015. The animals were common impalas, the subspecies Aepyceros melampus melampus. Two hundred and one vocal bouts contained 2,709 calls. Each bout held four to thirty-eight calls, and the longest lasted more than a minute. Roars included a single exhalation–inhalation cycle, several cycles interrupted by inhalations, and calls containing a section of rapid short breathing cycles.
Snorts occurred during the rut and in response to potential danger. Males that spotted a person increased their distance and produced snorts at irregular intervals from farther away. These series sometimes continued for as long as ten minutes. The males could maintain their distance and direct repeated calls toward the person.
IUCN Red List · Least Concern · Global
The IUCN assessment dated 7 January 2016 lists impala as Least Concern at the species level. Protected areas and well-managed private lands support many populations, making habitat protection and management central to conservation. Nevertheless, poaching around and within protected areas and agricultural and pastoral expansion threaten common impalas. For the separate, more restricted black-faced subspecies, hybridization with common impalas is an additional conservation concern.