Project Description
Gazelles are closely related, small to medium sized antelopes that live in grasslands, savannahs, and plains. Named after Joseph Thomson, a late 19th-century Scottish explorer, Thomson’s gazelle ranges to 1.2 metres long from head to base of tail and weighs up to 35 kilogrammes. It has a cinnamon coloured coat along its upper body and legs, white and black facial markings, a black lateral band rising from the top of its forelegs to its hindquarters, and white underparts. Females have a short, spike-like horn. Males have much longer horns with thick, circular ridges along most of their length.
Different species of gazelle can be found in many areas of Africa, as well as in parts of Asia. Thomson’s gazelles are widespread in southern and central Kenya, and northern Tanzania. Despite their limited geographic range, they are the most abundant species of gazelle. Serengeti’s migratory population of gazelles is the largest of any gazelle population in Africa.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.
A similar pattern of seasonal travel as Wildebeest and Zebra
Thomson’s gazelles prefer short grasslands, savannah, and shrublands. They are primarily grazers, but will consume fruits, herbs, and foliage. Thomson’s gazelles follow a similar pattern of seasonal travel as wildebeest and zebra. Enjoying the trampled grass left behind by the larger herbivores, they can remain in areas that have become too dry and barren for other animals. A unique behaviour of gazelles is stotting. When alarmed by a predator, they leap high into the air and, on landing, take off at speeds up to 88 kilometres per hour. This is not quite as fast as a cheetah, but, if the gazelle gets a sufficient head start, it can maintain such speeds long enough to exhaust its would-be predator.
Thomson’s gazelles are active during the daytime. They are extremely flexible in their social behaviour. Individuals recognise relatives and “friends,” but, except for females and their fawns, there are no lasting ties among individuals. Males defend territories during breeding season. At other times, they may form bachelor herds or join herds with females and other males. There can be temporary associations of 100 or more animals, female herds with overlapping members, and even mixed herds with Grant’s gazelles and impalas. Females produce a single fawn after a five to six month gestation. Unusual for antelopes, they can give birth twice a year—an important trait since almost half of fawns are lost to predators before reaching maturity.
The populations and geographic ranges of most gazelles in Africa are declining, but the animals are still fairly common, and populations in protected areas are mostly stable. Threats to Thomson’s gazelle outside Serengeti Park are from decreased water availability, road development, and declines in habitat quality.
Easy to mix up
Other gazelles or gazelle-like animals in Serengeti include the above mentioned Grant’s gazelle (Nanger granti), which is similar in appearance to Thomson’s gazelle, but is much larger. It is better adapted to browsing and can survive where other animals require a more constant, freely available source of water. Depending on where it can find food, it sometimes migrates in directions opposite that of other herbivores. A more distantly related species, the gerenuk or giraffe gazelle (Litocranius walleri), has a long neck that allows it to reach higher into tree foliage. It lives in dry, brushy regions of the Serengeti and relies on succulent-type plants for its only source of water.
