Species profile
About the thomson’s gazelle
No animal says short-grass Serengeti more clearly than a Thomson's gazelle: sandy above, white below, with a bold black band along the flank and a black tail that flicks without pause. Hundreds of thousands move through the ecosystem, following the wildebeest and zebra onto grass those larger grazers have already cropped short.
Thomson's gazelles are the principal prey of cheetah and a major food source for every other predator on the plains. They are also fast in their own right, and a fleeing herd 'stotting' — bouncing stiff-legged with all four feet leaving the ground — is one of the great sights of the southern Serengeti.
Life in the wild
Behavior & relationships
Behavior
Diurnal grazer that flicks its tail almost constantly. Stots when alarmed, a stiff-legged bounce that signals fitness to a pursuing predator.
Social life
Loose herds of females and young, territorial males holding small plots along the herd’s route, and separate bachelor groups.
What makes it remarkable
Special features
The broad black side-stripe separating fawn from white, and stotting — a signal to predators rather than an escape movement.
