Thomson's gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii) is one of the best known species of gazelles. It is named after explorer Joseph Thomson and is sometimes referred to as a "tommie". It is considered by some to be a subspecies of the red-fronted gazelle and was formerly considered a member of the genus Gazella within the subgenus Eudorcas, before Eudorcas was elevated to genus status.
Thomson's gazelles can be found in numbers exceeding 200,000 in Africa and are recognized as the most common type of gazelle in East Africa. A small fast antelope, the Thomson's gazelle is claimed to have top speeds up to 80–90 km/h (50–55 mph). It is the fourth-fastest land animal, after the cheetah (its main predator), pronghorn, and springbok.
Cheetahs are one of the main predators of Thomson's gazelle.
Thomson's gazelles are dependent on short grass. Their numbers can be highly concentrated at the beginning of the rains when the grass grows quickly. In the Serengeti, they follow the larger herbivores, such as plains zebras and blue wildebeests as they mow down the taller grasses. In the wild, Thomson's gazelles can live 10–15 years. Their major predators are cheetahs, which are able to attain higher speeds, but gazelles can outlast them in long chases and are able to make turns more quickly. This small antelope can run extremely fast, up to 80 km/h (50 mph), and zigzag, an adaptation which often saves it from predators. Sometimes, they are also taken by leopards, lions, African wild dogs, hyenas, Nile crocodiles and African rock pythons, and their fawns are sometimes the prey of eagles, jackals, and baboons. A noticeable behaviour of Thomson's gazelles is their bounding leap, known as stotting or pronking, used to startle predators and display strength.
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