Thomson's gazelles are mainly grazers, feeding on grasses, herbs, and leaves of plants in the open plains. Their herds, which are composed of a dominant male, females, and their young, contain anywhere from five to fifty individuals.
The dominant male marks off his territory with urine and feces and regularly patrols its perimeter to keep his herd together. When he meets another male, they go head to head and push each other to establish rank.
Thomson's gazelles are known for a behavior called stotting: They bounce on all fours in a stiff-legged fashion that propels them up into the air, providing them with a better view of approaching danger and making them less vulnerable to attack.
Name: Thomson's Gazelle (Gazella thomsoni)
Family: Bovidae (Cattle and Relatives)
Range: Kenya, Tanzania, southern Sudan
Habitat: Grassy plains to brushy forests
Diet: Short grasses, seeds and shrubs
Head and Body Length: 31 to 43 inches (80 to 110 cm)
Tail Length: 7.5 to 11 inches (19 to 27 cm)
Shoulder Height: 22 to 26 inches (55 to 65 cm)
Weight: 33 to 66 pounds (15 to 30 kg)
Life Cycle: Mating January to February and in July; gestation 160 to 180 days, one (rarely two) calves born; sometimes two births per year
Description: Fawn or cinnamon back; black flank band; white underside; white eye-rings; black cheep stripes; dark, ringed horns; black tail
Conservation Status: Lower Risk (Conservation Dependent)
Major Threat: Hunting
What Can I Do?: Visit the
African Wildlife Foundation for information on how you can help.
 Order: Artiodactyla, Family: Bovidae Greater kudus weigh between 265 and 700 pounds.
The greater kudu is one of the tallest antelopes, with a shoulder height ranging from 3.3 feet to 5 feet.
Greater kudus have the largest horns in the bushbuck tribe, averaging 4 feet in length.
Body color varies from reddish brown to blue-gray, with the darkest individuals found in the southern populations. The color of the males darkens with ...
|
 Order: Artiodactya, Family: Bovidae Elands weigh from 660 to 2,200 pounds, with males much larger than females.
Their hides are a uniform fawn color with some vertical white striping on the upper parts. A dewlap, thought to be an adaptation for heat dissipation, hangs from the throat and neck.
Elands have heavy, corkscrew-shaped horns that grow up to 4 feet long on males and 2.2 feet long on females. Both sexes have short manes ...
|
 Order: Artiodactyla, Family: Bovidae Ethiopian: Nyala have a localized distribution, occupying some parts of southeastern Africa.
Nyala are medium sized in comparison to other antelopes, with a marked size difference between the sexes. Males weigh 98-125 kg and stand over one meter tall at the shoulder, while females weigh 55-68 kg and are slightly less than a meter tall. Males have horns, which can be up to 80 cm long and spiral up...
|
 Herds of ten to forty gemsbock are not uncommon and groups of up to a hundred have been recorded.
These animals are frequently found in association with other species of gazelles and sometimes zebras, foraging for grasses and leaves.
Gemsbock can go many days without water, but in the more arid parts of their range, they sometimes dig a trough in a dried-out river bed to reach the water tabl...
|
 Order: Artiodactyla, Family: Bovidae Ethiopian: Throughout central Africa, from south of the Sahara to north of the Kalahari deserts.
|
 Order: Artiodactyla, Family: Bovidae The Tibetan antelope, or Chiru, is endemic to the Tibetan Plateau. It is found between Ngoring Hu in China and the Ladakh region in India. Its range once extended to western Nepal, but none have been seen in Nepal for several years.
|
Add Feedback