Animal Spotlight: Grant's Gazelle

AFRICA

(Nanger granti) GRANT'S GAZELLE

Grant's Gazelle Range

Just 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. 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

lions, leopards, cheetahs and hyenas—so that kind of speed is a survival strategy. Since many sets of eyes make for a better early warning system, Grant’s gazelles tend to migrate in herds that can range anywhere from 10 to 200 individuals. And in locations where their habitats overlap, they can sometimes be seen mixing with Thompson’s gazelles, zebras, giraffes and other herbivores (plant-eaters) of the grasslands.

Our herd of Grant’s gazelle at Woodland Park Zoo is made up of five leggy ladies—all of them related. Buttercup, Bubbles and Blossom are 2 years old—and yes indeed, they were named after the Powerpuff Girls. Older siblings Spirit and Hoser are 7. They all have their own preferences and mannerisms—but the one whose personality really shines is Buttercup. Her animal keepers say that she has a very bold and sassy temperament, and is the “social butterfly” of the group. When the animal keepers are out on the Savanna, Buttercup loves running around to get their attention. Sometimes she does a kind of four-legged bounce or jump— called a pronk or a stot—alongside of them. Gazelles are known for this special kind of gait.

At mealtime our girls get to dine on a variety of hay, alfalfa, apples, carrots, romaine, beet pulp and a special kind of biscuit made for leaf-eaters. Buttercup particularly likes the biscuits and romaine, but her favorite treat (on the menu when it’s in season) is roses! So next time you visit the zoo, if you see one of our gazelles out on the savanna nibbling on flowers, it might be her. She’s the one who knows that a rose by any other name is … delicious!

Elizabeth Bacher, Staff Writer

Photos by Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren and Lauren Southerland-Cook, WPZ

CLYDE COOL FACTS

• Grant’s gazelles are more browsers than grazers, meaning they eat more leaves and stems than grasses—but given the opportunity they’ll do both.

• They can go for long periods without water. It’s a survival strategy for the dry savanna, plus it allows them to avoid predators that hunt at watering holes.

• That ability to go without water offers another advantage too. While Thompson’s gazelles, zebras and wildebeest leave dry areas to find water, Grant’s gazelles can migrate in the opposite direction, reducing competition for food.