Some gazelles compete for females by engaging in courtship displays with their horns. Although both the females and males of most gazelle species possess horns, only the males use them in an attempt to woo members of the opposite sex .
Why do gazelles Pronk?
Alpacas, gazelles, some deer and baby lambs are all known to pronk. That is, they leap into the air as if leaping for joy, lifting all four feet off the ground at once . The fact that – in some species like sheep – young animals do it more than older ones does suggest playfulness.
Do gazelles have horns?
All antelope have horns; in some species they are only found on the males, whereas in others, such as gazelles, both males and females have them . The horns are made of a bony core encased in a hard material made largely of keratin (the same substance our fingernails are made of!).
What is special about a gazelle?
Gazelles are nimble and beautiful animals , with a variety of stripes and markings that accentuate their tan buff coats and white rumps. They also boast a impressive, ringed horns. These attributes make many gazelles attractive as game animals.
Do gazelle shed their antlers?
Horns are structurally different from antlers and are permanent ( they do not fall off and regrow like antlers ). In antelope, cattle, goats, sheep and other members of the family Bovidae, males have horns, and in many species females also have horns. Horns consist of a bony core covered by a keratin sheath.
What are baby gazelles called?
Baby gazelles are called fawns or calves . To keep her calves safe from predators, a female gazelle will hide her babies in tall grasses. While the young are still nursing, they stay with their mother’s herd. When they are ready to fend for themselves, male calves are moved to the male herd.
Are gazelles smart?
The gazelle is often portrayed as nature’s plucky underdog, the target of a lion or cheetah hunt gamely making his escape. The gazelle is a smart, adaptive and robust creature with some rather interesting characteristics. ...
Why do Springboks jump?
Male springbok (rams), engage in this behaviour in order to impress the females (ewes), showing off their ability to jump high into the air and display the hidden white fur, which releases a scented secretion from the inner glandular skin.
How far can gazelles jump?
Like kangaroos, gazelles can leap more than 10 feet into the air.
How does a gazelle sleep?
They sleep for short periods of about 5 minutes at a time , making up a total of a single hour per 24-hour day. Thomson’s gazelles display a unique tail motion, moving their tail side to side and resembling a windshield wiper. During the dry season, these animals migrate to areas with suitable drinking water.
What does a gazelle symbolize?
A gazelle is a graceful little antelope that’s native to Africa and Asia. ... These elegant, long-legged animals were frequently used in ancient Arabic and Persian literature, usually as a symbol of female beauty , and gazelle comes from the Arabic ghazal, a lyric love poem typically set to music.
What is a gazelles behavior?
Behavior of the Gazelle
They are quite social , and some live in herds well into the hundreds. Others live in smaller herds, and most large herds break up into smaller groups periodically. Some species also interact and forage with other species of Gazelle or other antelope.
What animals do gazelles interact with?
They eat grasses and generally live in herds. Gazelles are extremely important prey animals, and are preyed upon by all major predators in an ecosystem, including lions, cheetahs, leopards, crocodiles, jackals, African wild dogs, hyenas and humans .
What animal does not lose their antlers?
In contrast to antlers, horns—found on pronghorns and bovids, such as sheep, goats, bison and cattle—are two-part structures that usually do not shed.
What makes gazelles so fast?
When fleeing from a predator, gazelles often perform a distinctive stiff-legged vertical leap known as “pronking” or “stotting.” This can seem strange, since these high bounces into the air make the gazelle more visible to predators, and also take up time and energy that could be dedicated to faster, more direct ...
Is a gazelle faster than a cheetah?
And grow fast it did, with modern Thomson’s gazelles reaching top speeds of 43 miles per hour. This isn’t much compared to, say, cheetahs, which are significantly faster than any gazelle (see below). But gazelles have endurance on their side.
