Distinguishing Grant's and Thompson's gazelles
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by
ahjorth
Some times you can't see their rump, which is often a giveaway (unless of course it's not). I've usually used the distinct black band on the flanks to distinguish between the two, but it seems like 99% of gazelles have this. Even when I know I see a grant's gazelle, it's eating together with something that I would classify as a Thompson's gazelle due to a distinct black band.
Can I with confidence classify a gazelle as Thompson's if I can see the black stripe go from the back legs to the front legs?
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by
aliburchard
scientist, translator
You raise an excellent question. Two things: 1) Grant's and tommys often hang out in mixed herds, so you might have both species in your photo. 2) The black stripe is a give-away for a tommy - HOWEVER, young Grant's also have a darker stripe of fur that can look similar to a tommy's stripe. You can tell them apart if you look closely -- I'd suggest maybe taking a peek at www.arkive.org to try and get a sense for how the dark stripe of a young Grant differs from that of a tommy.
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