Thomson's gazelles are medium-sized antelopes found in East Africa.
Herds
These grazing antelopes live in herds, which can consist of as few as ten or as many as several hundred animals. During the plentiful rainy season, thousands of animals can be seen gathering in large groups... and not too far away... the Cheetah who loves to eat them. :-)
Life on the Open Plains
Gazelles typically frequent wide-open spaces and plains, where they browse on grasses, shoots, and leaves.
Open plains make them visible to predators like cheetahs or wild dogs, but gazelles are fleet of foot. The Thomson's gazelle can reach speeds of 40 miles an hour.
Some gazelle species eschew the grasslands for mountainous landscapes or even deserts. During the dry season some grassland gazelles will even take to the African bush in search of water.
Charactertistics
Gazelles are nimble and beautiful animals, with a variety of stripes and markings that accentuate their tan buff coats and white rumps. They also boast a impressive, ringed horns. These attributes make many gazelles attractive as game animals.
Reproduction
After a pregnancy of about six months, female gazelles give birth to one or two young and hide them in the plains grasses. These infants will remain out of sight for days or even weeks, being periodically nursed by their mother, until they are old enough to join the mother's herd, in the case of females, or a bachelor herd.
Come with me next year and we can see Cheetah shadow the herds of Thomson's Gazelle, and if we are lucky, witness a chase... All the details can be seen here. https://www.kevinpepperphotography.com/2019-tanzania-photo-safari-in-april
