Grant’s gazelle – Gazella granti

Grant’s gazelle is a mammal of a species of the Bovidae family and the subfamily of antelope.

This species lives in the Greater Horn of Africa. It lives in wide open spaces on the plains and hills, but not in the tall grass.

Its size reaches 85 cm at the withers and the male weighs around 80 kg, the female is of course smaller.  Grant’s gazelle wears high pitched horns such as tours daggers that can reach 80 cm. It has a coat “fawn sand”, white belly, legs clearer and has vertical black marks on the upper thighs. From a distance, it can be confused with Thomson’s gazelle and Impala. Its beautiful eyes, ringed with black inspired artists and are even the subject of a local superstition. The beautiful look can be transmitted to children if the pregnant mom touches the eyes of this beautiful gazelle.

Like other gazelles, it is part of ruminants, it is herbivorous. Grant’s gazelle eats grass and leaves. This species is well adapted to drought that often prevails in this part of East Africa. In this case, it can eat tree bark and settle for very little water.

Males engage in fighting during the rutting season, from September to December to win the favor of a few females. These battles cause some injuries, rarely serious. Each female will give birth after 190 days to a single baby, during the rainy season. Grant’s gazelle reaches sexual maturity at about eighteen months.

It can live 12 years or 15 in captivity.

Its small population of up to 350,000 individuals is declining, it is still hunted for its horns and meat. About 30% live in protected areas such as national parks. Nevertheless, this species is not yet considered in extinction.