Thomson's Gazelle

Thomson's gazelle is one of the best known species of gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and is sometimes referred to as a "tommie". Thomson's gazelle, or Tommies are one of the three migratory species that make up the vast Serengeti migration. Like the zebra and the wildebeest, there may be in excess of 500,000 Tommies in the migration. Tommies are easily identified by their tail motion, it swings side to side like a windshield wiper.  A small fast antelope, the Thomson's gazelle is claimed to have top speeds up to 80–90 km/h (50–55 mph). It is the fourth-fastest land animal, after the cheetah (its main predator), pronghorn, and springbok. Thomson's gazelles are herbivores (folivores). These grazing ungulates generally consume short grasses, supplementing this diet with twigs, seeds and tree leaves, particularly during the dry season.  These small gazelles, named for researcher Joseph Thomson, have light-brown coats with dark stripes running down their sides, a white patch on their rumps extending underneath the tail, and ridged horns that curve backward. Females may have shorter, smoother, and slimmer horns than males or none at all.

Trophic level: Herbivorous 

Conservation status: Near Threatened (Population decreasing) 

Scientific name: Eudorcas thomsonii

Mass: 51 lbs (Adult) 

Gestation period: 166 days 

Length: 2.9 ft. (Adult) 

Domain: Eukaryota