Thomson's Gazelle
From Freepedia
| Thomson's Gazelle | ||||||||||||||
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| Image:Thompson's Gazelle.jpeg Thomson's Gazelle | ||||||||||||||
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| Gazella thomsoni Günther, 1884 |
The Thomson's Gazelle (Gazella thomsoni) is one of the most well known gazelles. It is named after scientific explorer Joseph Thomson.
Thomson's gazelles are 60-90 cm tall and weigh 30-35 lbs. They have a light brown coat with white underparts and a distinctive black stripe. Their horns are long and pointed with a slight curve. A noticeable behaviour of Thomson's gazelles is their bounding leap called stotting. Also they like to congregate with other ungulates such as wildebeests and zebras.
Thomson's gazelles live in Africa in savanna and grassland habitats. They eat low vegetation and grass. Most of the water they need comes from what they eat.
Female Thomson's gazelles give birth to single calfs after a 5-6 month gestation period. They usually live to 10-15 years in the wild.
They are preyed on by most african big cats and hyenas but are the favorite food for cheetahs.
