The bontebok is an antelope found in South Africa and Lesotho. The bontebok has two subspecies; the endangered bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus pygarus), occurring naturally in the Fynbos and Renosterveld areas of the Western Cape, and the blesbok (Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi) occurring in the highveld.

The bontebok stands 80 to 100 cm at the shoulder and weighs 50 to 90 kg. The bontebok is a chocolate brown colour, with a white underside and a white stripe from the forehead to the tip of the nose, although there is a brown stripe across the white near the eyes in most blesbok. Bontebok also has a distinctive white patch around its tail (whence the Latin name), while this patch is light brown/tan in blesbok. The horns of bontebok are lyre-shaped and clearly ringed. They are found in both sexes and can reach a length of half a metre.

Blesbok live in highveld where they eat short grasses, while bontebok are restricted to coastal Fynbos and Renosterveld (Skead, 1980). They are diurnal, though they rest during the heat of the day. Herds contain only males, only females or are mixed and do not exceed forty animals for bonteboks or seventy for blesboks.