Thomson’s gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii)

Male Thomson's gazelle
Male Thomson's gazelle

Thomson’s gazelle fact file

Thomson’s gazelle description

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCetartiodactyla
FamilyBovidae
GenusEudorcas (1)

Despite its limited distribution this is by far Africa’s most abundant gazelle (3). The ‘tommy’, as it is locally known (3), has a distinct black band running along the side of the body that divides the yellowish-fawn to reddish-fawn upperparts from the clean white underparts (2). The white buttocks are edged with black (2), extending to the short, black tail which is constantly flicking (3). Both sexes of the Thomson’s gazelle have long, strongly ringed horns that grow fairly close together, although those of the ewe are generally shorter, thinner, and frequently deformed (3). The face is boldly marked with white, fawn, dark brown and black, and varies between individuals (2). Thomson’s gazelle has sometimes been regarded as a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle, Eudorcas rufifrons.

Synonyms
Gazella thomsonii.
Size
Head-body length: 80 - 120 cm (2)
Male weight: 20 - 35 kg (2)
Female weight: 15 - 25 kg (2)
Top

Thomson’s gazelle biology

Thomson’s gazelles form small herds but are socially very flexible (2) (3). Herds of females overlap with other herds, and movement between herds is common. Within their shared home range the females rest, move between pastures and visit waters (2). Males are a little less flexible and mature males fight to obtain and defend territories within the female’s favourite pastures (2). They denote the boundaries of their territory with dung and by marking grass stems and twigs with secretion from the scent glands beneath their eyes (2). Territoriality in males peaks during mating periods when frequent fights and stand-offs occur between neighbouring males, and males attempt to mate with any receptive female that enters their area (2) (3).

Lambs may be born at any time of the year, but birthing often occurs towards the end of the rainy season (3). Females are pregnant for 188 days, after which a single lamb weighing two to three kilograms is born (3). Thomson’s gazelles feed on fresh green grass whenever possible, but during the dry season, feeding on seeds and the foliage of shrubs is necessary (2). Thomson’s gazelles need to drink water every day or two, and in its dry grassland habitat this sometimes requires making round trips of ten miles or more (4).

Top

Thomson’s gazelle range

Thomson’s gazelle occurs in central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania (2) (3).

Top

Thomson’s gazelle habitat

Thomson’s gazelle inhabits acacia savanna and short grasslands, preferring heavily grazed, trampled or burnt grasslands. It is relatively tolerant to drought and can stay on dry pastures long after other large herbivores have moved to moister habitats (2).

Top

Thomson’s gazelle status

Classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List (1).

IUCN Red List species status – Near Threatened

Top

Thomson’s gazelle threats

The Thomson’s gazelle was once widespread throughout its range, but numbers have declined steeply (2). This is likely to be due to the encroachment of man onto their habitat (5), and hunting (1).

Top

Thomson’s gazelle conservation

Whilst in many areas Thomson’s gazelles have declined, in some areas the species remains common, particularly in protected areas, such as the Serengeti National Park and Masai-Mara Nature Reserve (2). The continued protection and management of such areas is likely to be vital for the conservation of Thomson’s gazelle.

View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Top

Find out more

To learn more about Thomson’s gazelle and the conservation of African wildlife see:

Top

Authentication

Authenticated (29/03/10) by Dr. David Mallon, Co-Chair, IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group.

Top

Glossary

Home range
The area occupied by an animal during routine activities, which is not actively defended.
Subspecies
A population usually restricted to a geographical area that differs from other populations of the same species, but not to the extent of being classified as a separate species.
Territoriality
Territorial behaviour in which an animal, a pair of animals or a colony occupies and defends an area.
Territory
An area occupied and defended by an animal, a pair of animals or a colony.
Top

References

  1. IUCN Red List (September, 2009)
    http://www.iucnredlist.org
  2. Kingdon, J. (1997) The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. Academic Press, San Diego.
  3. Stuart, C. and Stuart, T. (1997) Field Guide to the Larger Mammals of Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.
  4. Alden, P.C., Estes, R.D., Schlitter, D. and McBride, B. (1996) Collins Guide to African Wildlife. HarperCollins Publishers, London.
  5. Macdonald, D.W. (2006) The Encyclopedia of Mammals. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

More »Related species

Red-fronted gazelle (Eudorcas rufifrons)Thinhorn sheep (Ovis dalli)Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus)Tibetan gazelle (Procapra picticaudata)Red serow (Capricornis rubidus)Chinese serow (Capricornis milneedwardsii)Black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou)Chinese goral (Naemorhedus griseus)

Please donate to ARKive today

Help us share the wonders of the natural world. Donate today!

Sign up to our newsletter

Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.

Get involved

ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!

X
Close

Image credit

Male Thomson's gazelle  
Male Thomson's gazelle

© Richard Packwood / gettyimages.com

Getty Images
101 Bayham Street
London
NW1 0AG
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 800 376 7981
sales@gettyimages.com
http://www.gettyimages.com

X
Close

Link to this photo

ARKive species - Thomson’s gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii) Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.

Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.

Read more about

X
Close

MyARKive

MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.

X
Close

Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials

Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.

Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:

  • view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
  • download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
  • teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.

End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.

Additional use of flagged material

Green flagged material 

Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.

Creative commons material

Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.

Any other use

Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.

Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.