royal antelope: see antelope.

marsh antelope, name for members of a group of deerlike African antelopes, usually found in reeds or tall grasses near water. The males of this group have horns that curve back, up, and forward; females are hornless. Most marsh antelopes travel in small herds. The waterbucks are large marsh antelopes with long, coarse, brown hair. The males stand up to 50 in. (125 cm) at the shoulder and weigh up to 500 lb (225 kg). They are found in reedy or grassy country but may wander several miles from water. Strong swimmers, they often take to water when pursued. The common waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) is found in S and E Africa, the Defassa waterbuck (K. defassa) in central Africa. The kob (K. kob) and the puku (K. vardoni), of equatorial Africa, are smaller, reddish antelopes, always found close to water or swamps. The lechwes are the most aquatic of the marsh antelopes; they often spend the day submerged up to the neck. The red lechwe (K. leche) is found in S Africa, and the Nile lechwe (K. megaceros) in Sudan. The reedbucks (genus Redunca), whose different species are distributed over most of Africa, are small, generally solitary antelopes about 30 in. (76 cm) high; the smallest, the mountain reedbuck (Redunca fulvorufula), is found in the hills and mountains of E Africa. The rhebok (Pelea capreolus) resembles the reedbuck but has a woolly coat; it is found in hilly country in S Africa. Marsh antelopes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

antelope brush, low, deciduous shrub (Purshia tridentata) of the family Rosaceae (rose family), widely distributed in the W United States where it is a characteristic constituent of the vegetation on arid slopes and desert ranges. One of the most important Western browse plants, it provides abundant forage throughout the year for both cattle and deer. Antelope brush is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Rosales, family Rosaceae.

antelope, name applied to a large number of hoofed, ruminant mammals of the cattle family (Bovidae), which also includes the sheep and goats. The North American pronghorn is sometimes called an antelope, but belongs to a separate, related family (Antilocapridae). True antelopes are found only in Africa and Asia. They range in size from pygmy antelopes, 12 in. (30 cm) high at the shoulder, to the giant eland, with a shoulder height of over 6 ft (180 cm). Most types stand 3 to 4 ft (90-120 cm) high. The horns of antelopes, unlike the antlers of deer, are unbranched, consist of a chitinous shell with a bony core, and are not shed. Africa is the home of most antelopes. The spiral-horned antelopes are the bushbucks (including the nyala and the sitatunga), kudu, eland, and bongo. These oxlike animals have patterns of light and dark stripes on the body, and most have them on the face as well. The duikers are a group of small, straight-horned antelopes of forest and thick brush country. Marsh antelopes are deerlike animals of marshes and reedbeds; they include the waterbuck, kob, puka, lechwe, reedbuck, and rhebok. The gnu (or wildebeest) and the closely related hartebeest and damalisk are horselike antelopes of the grasslands. The name oryx is applied to smaller horselike animals of the desert and scrublands, including the gemsbok and the beisa; the addax is a related desert antelope. The sable antelope and the closely related roan antelope have enormous, backward-curved, scimitar-shaped horns. Gazelle is the name for a number of small, delicate antelopes with spreading horns, inhabiting deserts and grassy plains. The largest of these is the pale brown impala, the kind of antelope best known from motion pictures. The gazelle tribe also includes the gerenuk, dibatag, springbok, and blackbuck, as well as the so-called true gazelles (genus Gazella). The blackbuck, found in India, was the first antelope to be described by zoologists, and has the generic name Antilope. The delicate pygmy antelopes include the royal antelope, beira, klipspringer, oribi, grysbok, steinbok, dik-dik, and suni. Males have tiny, straight horns. The nilgai and the four-horned antelope are found in SE Asia. More closely related to the goats than to any of the above-named animals, but often called antelopes, are the saiga of central Asia and the chiru of Tibet. Antelopes are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Mammalia, order Artiodactyla, family Bovidae.

(1982) Massacre of Palestinian civilians by Christian militiamen in two Beirut refugee camps during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The goal of Israel's action was to expel Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanon. To achieve this objective, Israel allied itself with several Lebanese Christian groups, including the Phalange party, who fought the Palestinians during the protracted Lebanese civil war (1975–90). Following the U.S.-brokered evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters from Beirut, Israeli forces under Defense Minister Ariel Sharon allowed Phalange militiamen into the camps, ostensibly to root out further PLO fighters. Estimates of the number of women, children, and elderly who were killed over the next several days ranged from 800 to several thousand. Although no militiamen were ever prosecuted for their participation, Sharon—who an Israeli commission of inquiry later found indirectly responsible through negligence—was condemned in Arab popular opinion as the culprit of the massacre.

Learn more about Sabra and Shatila massacres with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Any of numerous species of Old World grazing or browsing bovids that typically are swift, slender, and graceful plains dwellers. The North American pronghorn is also sometimes referred to as an antelope. Most antelope are African; the others, except for the pronghorn, are Eurasian. They range in shoulder height from 10 to 70 in. (25–175 cm). The male, and sometimes the female, bears distinctive, backwardly curved horns. Seealso bongo, dik-dik, duiker, eland, gazelle, gnu, hartebeest, impala, kudu, nyala, oryx, springbok, waterbuck.

Learn more about antelope with a free trial on Britannica.com.