Grants Gazelle

Appearance

The Grant's Gazelle stands 75–95 cm up to the shoulder and weighs 45–65 kg . Its coat is a beige orange on the back with a white belly. The Grant's Gazelle looks similar to a Thomson's Gazelle except it has lyre-shaped horns which are stout at the base, clearly ringed and measuring 45–81 cm long. The subspecies are segregated by different morphological characters such as; horn shape and slight differences in coat colour. These differences are not indicative of ecological separation as with some species. They can reach running speeds of up to 80 to 90 km/h .

Naming

* ''Nanger granti brighti'' – Bright's Gazelle
⤷  ''Nanger granti granti'' – Southern Grant's Gazelle
⤷  ''Nanger granti lacuum'' – Northern Grant's Gazelle
⤷  ''Nanger granti petersi'' – Peter's Gazelle
⤷  ''Nanger granti robertsi'' – Robert's Gazelle

Status

The Grant’s gazelle is still a common species despite having being eradicated in certain areas. Major threats have been habitat destruction and hunting. The gazelle’s status as an unthreatened species is dependent on protection of the national parks and reserves it lives in. Examples of such parks include Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania, and Lake Turkana National Parks in Kenya. Estimates of the population range from 140,000 to 350,000. While certain areas have stable popualtions, overall the population trend is going downward.

Habitat

The Grant's gazelle is found in East Africa and lives in open grass plains and frequently found in shrublands; it avoids areas that have high grass where the visibility of predators is compromised. They also occur in semi-arid areas as well, and are relatively arid-adapted, relying on more "browse" or leafy material during dry seasons in order to supplement their intake of water. They are migratory animals but travel in the opposite direction of most of the other ungulates like Thompson's gazelles, zebras and wildebeests which are more water dependant. They can subsist on vegetation in waterless, semiarid areas. Here they face little competition.

Grant’s gazelles are generally mixed feeders that both browse and graze. Their average diet consists of 65.8% browse and 34.3% graze. Rainfall in their habitats seem to be the determinant of their diets. The Grant's gazelle's diet may also be responsible for the slow growth rates in the browsed plots. They get most of their moisture from the plants they eat so they don’t have to drink water often. Thus they can stay on the plains long after the rains end. From July to September, gazelles move deep into dense brush and wait for the next rains. They will eat red oats and small crunchy plants, which are avoided by the other ungulates. This allows the gazelles to survive in the brush during the dry season. Grant’s gazelles eat mainly dicotyledons during the dry season and grass in the wet season.

The most common predators of the Grant's gazelle are cheetahs and wild dogs. Humans also tend to hunt gazelles. In the Serengeti, Grant's gazelle is a prey item for cheetahs but Thomson's gazelle is more preferred. However, in Nairobi National Park, Grant's gazelle is preferred over Thomson's gazelle making it an important resource to the cheetah. Jackals are major predators of fawns.

Reproduction

Grant’s gazelles sexually mature at 18 months. Territory-holding bucks mate more than ones in bachelor groups. The courting ritual begins with a buck following a doe, waiting for her to urinate. When she does, the male does the flehmen to determine if she is in estrous. If she is, he will continue to follow her. The female will lift her tail, signaling that she is ready to mate and the male will copulate her. The gestation period for the gazelle lasts for 198 days. Births peak in January and February. A doe will leave her herd and find a well hidden place to give birth. Afterwards, the female eats the afterbirth and other fluids to keep the fawn clean and scentless. Females that have recently given birth will stay together for protection. The does nurse their fawns four times a day. Fawns are immobile for the first few days so the mother stays close by. When the fawn can walk, it leaves with its mother to find a herd. Around thus time, fawns will associate with one another in peer groups. A gazelle is weaned at six months but will continue to associate with its mother until adolescence.