Springbok+-+Future

Extinct animal: Bluebuck Modern Animal: Springbok
=**Future Animal: Sneeubok** =

The Sneeubok is a future descendant of the Springbok and is found 5 million years into the future. The name Sneeubok, came from the Afrikaans word for snow, as this new species of buck lives in the cold, artic climate, which differs immensely from its desert ancestors. The scientific name for the Sneeubok is //Antidocras ningues//. This animal is well adapted to the cold, wintery climates of the world in 5 million years time, which is going through the next ice age.

**Habitat**
 The next ice age will occur in around 5 million years time, and will cause the Sneeubok to have a wide range of new adaptations in order to survive. An ice age is a long term reduction in the Earth’s temperature, resulting in the expansion of glaciers and ice sheets. In the future, Africa w ill collide with Europe, and they will form one continent. Ice sheets cover the continent, and can be up to a kilometer thick. In the past, its ancestors have inhabited small areas of the Southern Cape, but now the Sneeubok inhabits the areas of this large continent of Africa and Europe stretching from modern day south Africa all the way to theSouth of France. There have been found to have large numbers of Springboks, as they new adaptations have ensured their survival in this winter climate.

This glacial atmosphere has resulted in large changes to the flora and fauna. The springbok relies less on plants and shrubs, as the thick layers of snow and ice in winter cover it up. Instead, the Sneeubok has adopted an omnivorous diet, which allows it to stay alive even when there is no sign of plants. There are still a few main species of plants and trees that have survived in the icy temperatures. These include cotton grass, lichens, willow trees and heather. As with the former Springbok, the Sneeubok can survive its whole life without drinking water, extracting it from the meat of its prey and the few plants and shrubs it eats.



The climate of the habitat of the Sneeubok is extremely cold and wintery. It is similar to that of the Artic, and Antarctic now, with temperatures seldom above -60°C at night, and never above freezing during the day. The temperatures become milder during the day in summer, but still much cooler than it is today. Blizzards, snowstorms and tornados are very frequent, with winds up to 80km/h, and the wind chill drops the temperature further. These icy blizzards cause there to be almost no visibility.

The diet of the Sneeubok has changed along with the habitat. Due to the scarceness of plants and other flora, the Sneeubok has adopted a omnivorous diet, meaning they eat both plants and animals. In the summer months, when some of the ice melts away they can browse, as they do not have to die through the thick layers of ice to find the shrubs. The Sneeubok mainly eats shrubs, roots and stems when they can find them. Some of the animals the Sneeubok preys on include the [|Shagrat], the [|Scrofa] and a few other smaller, less aggressive animals.

As well as having a lot of prey, the Sneeubok has some predators. These predators are larger, and better equipped to attack other animals. The main predator of the Sneeubok is the [|Snowstalker], whose large body size and razor sharp tusks make it a difficult match for any animal.

**Structural adaptation 1: Fur**
**Adaptation**: The fur of the Sneeubok is much thicker and lighter in colour than that of the past species of buck. They have a long shaggy fur coat, covering all of their bodies, including the bottom of their feet. The fur is around 6cm thick, and is white/cream in colour. **How it helps**: The purpose of this is to provide as much insulation as possible, in order to shield their bodies from the bitter cold temperatures of the ice age. The purpose of having fur on the bottom of their feet is to provide grip, as the ice sheets are slippery, and the hard hooves from the past would not allow the Sneeubok   to move, and run easily on the ice. The fur being white/cream helps because it camouflages to the white of the snow making it less likely to be eaten by predators, and more able to sneak up on prey. **Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that has caused the Sneeubok to develop long, white fur is the changing climate. The drop in the Earth’s temperature because of the ice age has caused it to adapt to have fur that insulates it from the cold, and camouflage to the white surroundings.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Structural adaptation 2: Body shape**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** The Sneeubok’s body shape has changed and adapted in order to suit the future ice age. The Sneeubok stands at about 1.2m high, and weighs around 70kg. This is a much taller and heavier buck than the previous springbok. The shape of the body is much rounder than the Springbok, whose slender body made it easy to jump and run fast. Underneath the long, shaggy fur is a thick layer of fat, which creates the rounder body shape. **How it helps:** The rounder, fatter body shape of the Sneeubok ensures the survival of the species. In order to cope with the extreme cold, the animal must adapt to be bigger. This helps as it reduces the surface area relative to volume, which results in less body heat lost. This is very important as it means the body stays warm, and does not freeze to death in the ice. The thick layer of fat provides insulation, which also keeps the Sneeubok warm. **Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that has lead the Sneeubok to develop this new body shape is the falling temperatures of the ice age. These cold temperatures have caused the Sneeubok to adapt and create more insulation, and ensure that less heat is lost as they are trekking through the freezing wilderness.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Structural adaptation 3: Clawed feet**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** The Sneeubok have thick, powerful feet, which have medium sized claws. The claws are used to dig and burrow through the ice in order to find the roots, stems and shrubs. This is different to the previous Springbok, who just had simple hooves that were appropriate for its desert lifestyle, which would not be suitable to this icy environment. **How it helps:** The clawed feet help the Sneeubok as it allows it to dig through the ice in order to find the plants, shrubs and stems of their diet. Although the buck does prey on animals, when the conditions are bad, and the prey are not seen, the Sneeubok must be able to find the plants that are hidden beneath layers of ice. The claws help the species survive as they provide them with the appropriate tools to find food. The claws also help to fight and attack predators, as they are sharp and can easily pierce the skin. **Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that caused the Sneeubok to develop sharp claws is the increase in the amount of ice. The increase in the amount of ice has covered up majority of the flora, which is a crucial aspect of the Sneeubok’s diet when other sources of food are scarce. The Sneeubok developed these claws to be able to find, and collect food.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Behavioural adaptation 1: Herds**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** The Sneeubok, similar to the Springbok travels in large herds. This animal travels in herds of up to 1000 buck. Unlike the springbok or the bluebuck, all the Sneeubok travel together, instead of having separate herds for bachelors, territorial males and calves. In the herds, the Sneeubok travel close together, and can migrate great distances. **How it helps:** Travelling in large herds helps the species in a number of ways. Firstly, when they travel close together, less heat is lost. They have adopted a similar method to the penguins. When the weather gets extremely cold, or when there is a blizzard, all the Sneeubok travel close together. This shields them from the cold winds, and retains some of the heat. They also travel in large herds to scare off the predators such as the Snowstalker, as their big numbers make them intimidating to the other animals. **Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that has lead the Sneeubok to travel in herds is the falling temperature and the increase in the number of predators. The falling temperature has caused the Sneeubok to have as many adaptations to retain the heat, and shield from the cold. The increase in predators has also caused them to travel in herds, as if they were travelling alone, they would be an easy target for the larger, fiercer animals.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Behavioural adaptation 2: Omnivorous diet.**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Adaptation:** The Sneeubok, unlike its ancestors chooses to eat both plants and animals. The animal browses in the summer months, where there is less ice covering the shrubs, making it easier to find. The plants it eats include different species of shrubs, roots and stems, which the often have to bury under the ice to find. The animals the Sneeubok preys on include the Shagrat and the Scrofa. These animals cannot run fast, and do not have the appropriate measures to defend themselves, making them easy prey for the Sneeubok. **How it helps:** The omnivorous diet is helpful as it ensures the survival of the species. The thick layers of ice cover up the majority of plants and shrubs, which do not allow the Sneeubok to have the diet of its past ancestors. By eating both meat and plants, it allows them to survive without having to search for food, and the meat also provides more protein and fat, which has increased the size of the buck. **Environmental pressure:** The environmental pressure that has caused the Sneeubok to adopt a omnivorous diet is the increase in the amount of ice. This has caused there to be a smaller amount of plants and shrubs to feed on, resulting in the Sneeubok going hungry. In order to ensure the survival of the species, they had to adopt a diet that was more consistent and fulfilling.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Extinction Pressure:**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The future cause of extinction of the Sneeubok will be the end of the ice age. The end of the ice age will result in a rapid increase in temperature, which will not be suited to the structural and behavioural adaptations of the Sneeubok, and not give them enough time to change and adapt to the new temperatures. The extinction will occur over a relatively short period of time as when the ice begins to melt, they will overheat and also be spotted easier by predators when their white fur does not camouflage in the grass and mountains.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Bibliography**
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[], Title: Future is wild: Return of the ice, Retrieved 20/6/2011, Date 2009, Author: Youtube <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[], Title: Future is wild, Retrieved 24/6/2011, Date 2011, Author: Unknown <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">[], Title: Ice age adaptations, Retrieved 24/6/2011, Date 2008, Author: Unknown.