Do any certain species in particular typically prey on Thomson Gazelles?

• by davidmill

  I noticed that in ASG000196v the #tommys are running away faster than normal. Is it possible something is going in to attack? If so, what animals typically prey on Thomson Gazelles?

  Posted December 11, 2012 4:34 AM

• by aliburchard scientist, translator

  In the bush, #tommys are also affectionately referred to as "cheetah burgers." Cheetahs eat a lot of tommys. Lions and hyenas will as well, but lions are a little slow and aren't typically very successful at catching these speedy little gazelles.

  Posted December 11, 2012 2:40 PM

• by arfon

  Ha, that's awesome. Presumably a cheetah is faster than a #tommy though right?

  Posted December 11, 2012 2:54 PM

• by aliburchard scientist, translator

  Yep, cheetahs are faster -- but because #tommys swerve and move unpredictably when they run, a cheetah still has a hard time catching them. They have to work pretty hard for their food!

  Posted December 11, 2012 3:06 PM

• by LucyitSwD

  is it true that cheetahs have greater acceleration than gazelles, but the gazelles can sustain their top speeds for longer? So if the cheetah is going to get the tommy, it has to do it within the 60 seconds or so before the gazelle reaches its cruising speed?

  Posted December 11, 2012 6:23 PM

• by aliburchard scientist, translator

  A cheetah can accelerate to about 70mph, but can only sustain this speed for a short period of time. If a cheetah fails to catch its prey within the first couple hundred feet, its breathing rate skyrockets and it overheats -- so it has to stop and cool down for a while.

  Posted December 11, 2012 6:57 PM

• by LucyitSwD

  Do you know how long it takes them to cover that first couple hundred feet?

  Posted December 11, 2012 7:13 PM

• by biminibob

  I was lucky enough to be on the Massai Mara 10 years ago, and about 4 or 5 trucks/cars had stopped to watch a mother and 3 grown-cub Cheetah's. The mother stopped, then dropped down. It had seen a tommy on the other side of the line of vehicles, probably about 20 meters past the vehicles. She used the cars as over, and was up to full speed as she ran through the line of cars before the Tommy ever saw her. It was probably less than a couple of seconds when she broke the line of cars until she hit the Tommy - it barely saw her coming before the Cheetah struck so had no chance to get away.

  Posted December 11, 2012 8:57 PM

• by tirralirra

  In October this year we saw a cheetah watching a herd of Thompson Gazelle - it took off towards them and stumbled on a fawn lying in the grass before it got to the herd. The fawn jumped up and cheetah and fawn circled for a few seconds, then the cheetah got it.

  The cheetah got lucky that time, because the herd startled and scattered quickly.

  Posted December 11, 2012 11:10 PM

• by vdurand

  I got one of a zebra spooking at the camera - I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often! So that may have been all it was.

  

  Posted December 12, 2012 12:14 AM

• by anned75

  My question is, what are the purpose of the Thomson's horns? They are turned back so I don't believe they could fight with them. Are they just for camouflage reasons?

  Posted December 16, 2012 10:34 PM

• by horkusone

  WOW @vdurand. Niiiice set.

  I always have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for cheetahs. They really cannot run at top speed for very long and have a long recovery time. When they do make a catch after a long run, they typically try to drag their prey into a tree to keep it from being stolen. They are exhausted an in no condition to protect what they just worked so hard to get. And if you figure how much energy it requires to run that fast and make a kill, they need that food more so than other animals just to regain all they have burned off. I just recently read that up to 50% of their cubs are killed by lions. With all that in mind, it is amazing they have survived as a species. Hard workers!

  Posted December 17, 2012 8:05 AM

• by chipo

  Why is this discussion a sticky in the bird section?

  Posted December 22, 2012 8:42 PM

• by dms246 moderator

  Yeah - looks like it got made a sticky, but that makes it show up in every section.

  Posted December 22, 2012 10:13 PM

• by davidbygott moderator in response to anned75's comment.

  anned75 - Tommies do use their horns in fighting, but I think you should imagine antelope fights more like arm-wrestling than swordfights. The objective is dominance rather than death. They do charge each other head-on, and push each other around, and you can hear the clack of horns from some distance away. It's the male tommies that do this, and they have the biggest horns. The males who fight most successfully presumably get more mating opportunities. Females' horns seem to be evolutionarily disappearing. They don't need them for fighting one another. They might still use them for defence against predators. But what could they effectively defend against? Not a cheetah - best defence is to run like hell. Maybe a jackal, but they often hunt in pairs, so while you're butting one, the other is catching your baby. So why spend energy growing horns? Hmmm...good question....let's not!
  Grant's females have more well developed horns, though still smaller than males', and there is some evidence that these larger antelopes can successfully use them in self defence, even against cheetahs.
  Anyhow...that's my take. Real Scientists, any comments?

  Posted December 23, 2012 1:08 AM