Thomson's gazelle

The Thomson's gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii) is one of the best-known gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and, as a result, is sometimes referred to as a "tommie".^[1] It is considered by some to be a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle and was formerly considered a member of the genus Gazella within the subgenus Eudorcas, before Eudorcas was elevated to genus status.^[2]Thomson's gazelles can be found in numbers exceeding 500 thousand^[3] in Africa and are recognized as the most common type of gazelle in East Africa.

Thomson's gazelles live in Africa's savannas and grassland habitats, particularly the Serengetiregion of Kenya and Tanzania. It has narrow habitat preferences, preferring short grassland with dry, sturdy foundation.^[4] It does, however, migrate into tall grassland and dense woodland.^[4] Gazelles are mixed feeders.^[4] In the wet seasons, gazelles eat mainly fresh grasses,^[5] but during the dry seasons, they eat more browse,^[5] particularly foliage from bushes, forbs, and clovers.^[4]

Thomson's gazelles are dependant on short grass.^[5] Their numbers are highly concentrated at the beginning of the rains since the grass grows quickly.^[5] They follow the larger herbivores, such as plains zebras and blue wildebeests as they mow down the tall grasses.^[5]Then, the gazelles spread out more.^[5] In the wild, Thomson's gazelles can live up to 10–15 years. Their major predators are cheetahs, which are able to attain higher speeds, but gazelles can outlast them in long chases and are able to make turns more speedily.^[6] This small antelope-gazelle can run very fast, up to 80 km/h (50 mph),^[7] and zigzag, a peculiarity which often saves it from predators. Sometimes they are also chased by leopards, lions and hyenas, but the gazelles are faster and more agile; these predators attack especially the young or infirm individuals. They can also be devoured by crocodiles and pythons, and their fawns are sometimes the prey of eagles, jackals and baboons. A noticeable behaviour of Thomson's gazelles is their bounding leap, known as stotting or pronking, used to startle predators and display strength.