Thomson's Gazelle - Fauna Clips

Thomson's gazelles are 60--90 cm (24-35 in) tall and weigh 13--22 kg (29-40 lb). They have light brown coats with white underparts and a distinctive black stripe. Their horns are long and pointed with slight curvature. The white patch on their rump extends to underneath the tail but no further. A mistake sometimes made is the misidentification of Grant's Gazelles as Thomson's Gazelles. Although some Grant's do have the black stripe running across their sides, the white on their rump always extends above the tail. A noticeable behaviour of Thomson's gazelles is their bounding leap, known as stotting or pronking, used to startle predators and display strength. They often congregate with other hoofed mammals, or ungulates, such as wildebeest and zebra and usually live and migrate in herds with hundreds or thousands of other Thomson's gazelles.
The social structure of gazelles consists of several types of groups. Male gazelles are territorial throughout their adult lives, though not usually before 2--3 years of age. During the non-territorial periods males usually spend their time in bachelor groups or as part of a mixed herd. Likewise females will form migratory female groups that travel through the males' territory. As the female groups pass through, the territorial males will try to herd them to prevent them from leaving. Adult male bucks with adjoining territories will engage in combat several times a day, fighting with their horns to establish dominance and the boundaries of their territories. In this way, the accepted boundaries of the territory can change on a daily basis. If a lone male, a bachelor group, or in some cases even an adolescent male fawn of a female gazelle should be passing through a territorial male's region, the male will chase the offender out of his territory. Interestingly, this territoriality does not extend to males of other species. The territory of a Thomson's gazelle and several other types of ungulates may overlap with no problem whatsoever. Occasionally, a Thomson's gazelle and a zebra or other ungulate will even appear to enjoy one another's company with great sociability