Male Impala in Courtship Display

Curves.

I love how the curve of this male impala’s impressive horns is mirrored by the curl of his tongue.

But… what’s he doing?

Impala have three distinct social groups, female herds, bachelor herds, and territorial males. This guy is a territorial male that had a harem of more than a dozen females. He was keeping his harem together and tasting the air for pheromones – moving from this tongue out expression to the classic Flehmen Response where he curls back his upper lip and bares his teeth while inhaling, enabling him to determine if a particular female is in estrus. You can see this behavior in many species of ungulates – deer and elk here close to home.

Photographed in Maasai Mara with my @nikonusa #nikonZ9 and #nikkorz800mmf63vrs