| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Size: | Height: 21 to 32 inches (55 to 82 cm) to shoulder |
| Weight: | 30 to 77 pounds (14 to 35 kg) |
| Diet: | Grass, plants |
| Distribution: | East Africa |
| Young: | 1 offspring once or twice per year |
| Animal Predators: | Lions, cheetahs, jackals, leopards, wild dogs and spotted hyenas |
| IUCN Status: | Lower Risk, Conservation Dependent |
| Terms: | Young: Calf |
| Lifespan: | 10 to 13 years in the wild, up to 15 years in captivity |
·
They are one of the 10 fastest mammals in the world, at
47 miles (76 km) per hour.
· Thomson’s gazelles are sometimes referred to as “tommies.”
· Thomson’s gazelles are named for Joseph Thomson, a 19th century Scottish naturalist and explorer.
These small, graceful antelopes have light reddish-brown fur on their backs, with a lighter, fawn coloured stripe underneath and a black stripe leading from the foreleg to the hindquarters. Their undersides are white. Males have long, ringed horns, while females have short, smooth horns or no horns at all.
They live on the grassy plains and savannahs of Kenya, North Tanzania and southeast Sudan, from sea-level to 19,000 feet.
Thomson’s gazelles graze on various grasses and plants, and during the rainy season, can go without drinking for long periods. During dry periods, they need to be near a water source, sometimes travelling as much as 100 miles (161 km) to find one.
Mating usually takes place in winter, with birth taking
place five months later, in spring. Females leave the herd a few days before
giving birth. They may stay alone with their baby for up to three months. Weaning takes
place after the youngster reaches two months of age, and they become full grown
within a year. Young males are then expelled from the herd to go and join a bachelor
herd.
Thomson’s
gazelles live in either same-sex
groups of up to 100, or mixed groups of as many as 700 gazelles. Males
mark their territories and will tolerate familiar males in their territories as
long as they remain subordinate and do not approach the females. Thomson’s
gazelles are most active in the early morning and the evening. When alarmed, they spring stiffly
up and down in a manner referred to as stotting or pronking. During migration, herds
may number into the thousands, joining up with Grant’s gazelles—a similar, but
larger gazelle.
Thomson’s gazelle is the best-known and most common gazelle in East Africa. Although their numbers have declined due to hunting and the spread of agriculture, the population is stable. This may be because only cheetahs are faster and can run them down during a chase. Even so, gazelles can turn more quickly than cheetahs, so a chase does not necessarily end in a victory for the cheetah.
http://library.thinkquest.org/16645/wildlife/thomsons_gazelle.shtml?tqskip1=1&tqtime=0228
http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Thomsons_Gazelle.asp
http://www.seaworld.org/AnimalBytes/abthomsonsgazelle.htm
http://www.awf.org/wildlives/156
http://www.chaffeezoo.org/zoo/animals/gazelle.html
http://www.xmission.com/~hoglezoo/mammals/tommy.htm
http://www.phoenixzoo.org/zoo/animals/facts/gazelthom.asp
http://www.szgdocent.org/ung/a-tomy.htm
http://www.plymouth.libmi.us/faqfastest.htm
http://www.clemetzoo.com/animals/animal_info/gazelle_thomsons.html
Thomson’s Gazelle Wildlife Fact File, IM Pub, US