In addition to running at high speeds, Thomson's gazelles also use a
bounding leap, called "stotting" or "pronking," to avoid predators.
Gazelles are medium-sized antelopes found in Africa and in Asia as
far east as Mongolia. There are some 19 different species of gazelles.
These
grazing antelopes live in herds, which can consist of as few as ten or
as many as several hundred animals. During the plentiful rainy season,
thousands of animals can be seen gathering in large groups.
Gazelles typically frequent wide-open spaces and plains, where they browse on grasses, shoots, and leaves.
Open
plains make them visible to predators like cheetahs or wild dogs, but
gazelles are fleet of foot. The Thomson's gazelle can reach speeds of 40
miles (64 kilometers) an hour.
Some gazelle species eschew the
grasslands for mountainous landscapes or even deserts. During the dry
season some grassland gazelles will even take to the African bush in
search of water.
