Impala

This graceful antelope (Aepyceros melampus)

is preyed on by lions, hyenas, crocodiles and vultures but its greatest enemy is the tick. The impala feeds in the zone between open grassland and forest, an area thick with ticks. Blood loss through tick infestation can so weaken an antelope that it becomes diseased or too feeble to evade predators. But the impala has a solution: its mobile incisor and canine teeth are adapted to groom parasites from its skin. The parts it cannot reach are groomed by another impala and it returns the favour.

The impala's scientific name Aepyceros comes from the Greek meaning 'high horn' and refers to the male's spectecular, ridged, lyre-shaped horns.