ANIMAL SPOTLIGHT
(Nanger granti)
AFRICA
GRANT'S GAZELLE J
ust in time for spring, our animal spotlight is shining on the zoo’s Savanna where we find a species known as the graceful “gymnasts” of east Africa’s grasslands: our Grant’s gazelles. There are many species of small to medium-sized antelopes in Africa and Asia that are gazelles. Their lean and leggy stature makes them look a little like deer, but gazelles are actually bovines, which puts them in the same family as goats, cattle and sheep. 8 MYZOO Member Magazine | Spring 2022 | zoo.org
Grant's Gazelle Range
Grant’s gazelles and Thompson’s gazelles are among the most recognized of those that live in the grasslands of east Africa with the Grant’s being the larger of the two. They have great big lyre-shaped, ringed horns and a light brown coat that is white on the inside of their legs and on their belly. There is also a white stripe with a little black on their face and a white patch of fur on their rump. The biggest visual differences between the two species (other than size) are that the smaller Thompson’s have a very pronounced black stripe on their flanks (the area on their sides between the ribs and hips) and the white rump patch on the Thompson’s gazelle stops at the root of their tail. The Grant’s rump patch is larger and covers the region above their tail, too. Gazelles are built for swiftness and agility. After all, they are on the menu for many carnivorous (meat-eating) predators that share their habitat, like
