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The animal on the cover of Getting Started with Impala is an impala (Aepyceros melampus). This is a medium-sized antelope native to the continent of Africa, which lives in savanna and brushland habitats. They are herbivores, and spend their days in herds grazing on grass and other vegetation.

Male impalas are the only sex with horns, which curve in an S shape rather like the lyre (an instrument of ancient Greece). These horns are used to fight other males during breeding season and to protect territory. Males are also noticeably larger and heavier than females: 30–36 inches tall at the shoulder and 120–160 pounds, versus the females’ average of 28–33 inches and 90–120 pounds. All impalas have brown coats, black stripes on their rear legs, and a white tail with a black stripe running down its length.

Impalas live in three kinds of social groups during the rainy season when mating occurs: bachelor herds of nonterritorial and young males, herds of territorial males with breeding females, and herds of females with their young. Young male impalas remain in the latter kind of group until they are about four years old, when they reach sexual maturity and establish their own territory. In the dry season, these groups often intermingle.

Impalas are very fast runners, which is their main defense against natural predators such as lions, cheetahs, crocodiles, and hyenas. They can also leap nearly 10 feet in the air, which serves as a tactic to confuse or startle predators.

Many of the animals on O’Reilly covers are endangered; all of them are important to the world. To learn more about how you can help, go to animals.oreilly.com.

The cover image is from Wood’s Animate Creation. The cover fonts are URW Typewriter and Guardian Sans. The text font is Adobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag’s Ubuntu Mono.