Grant's Gazelle - Ecology

Ecology

The Grant's gazelle is found in East Africa and lives in open grass plains and frequently found in shrublands; it avoids areas that have high grass where the visibility of predators is compromised. They also occur in semi-arid areas as well, and are relatively arid-adapted, relying on more "browse" or leafy material during dry seasons in order to supplement their intake of water. They are migratory animals but travel in the opposite direction of most of the other ungulates like Thompson's gazelles, zebras and wildebeests which are more water dependant. They can subsist on vegetation in waterless, semiarid areas. Here they face little competition.

Grant’s gazelles are generally mixed feeders that both browse and graze. Their average diet consists of 65.8% browse and 34.3% graze. Rainfall in their habitats seem to be the determinant of their diets. The Grant's gazelle's diet may also be responsible for the slow growth rates in the browsed plots. They get most of their moisture from the plants they eat so they don’t have to drink water often. Thus they can stay on the plains long after the rains end. From July to September, gazelles move deep into dense brush and wait for the next rains. They will eat red oats and small crunchy plants, which are avoided by the other ungulates. This allows the gazelles to survive in the brush during the dry season. Grant’s gazelles eat mainly dicotyledons during the dry season and grass in the wet season.

The most common predators of the Grant's gazelle are cheetahs and wild dogs. Humans also tend to hunt gazelles. In the Serengeti, Grant's gazelle is a prey item for cheetahs but Thomson's gazelle is more preferred. However, in Nairobi National Park, Grant's gazelle is preferred over Thomson's gazelle making it an important resource to the cheetah. Jackals are major predators of fawns.