THOMSON'S GAZELLE 



GAZELLA THOMSONI 



SWAHILI : SWALLAH. MASAI : NCOBARA 



f~ ""^HE Thomson's gazelle, or "Tommy" 

 as it is called locally, is so well known 

 in East Africa as to hardly require a 

 description. By the way, it is extremely 

 awkward that the Swahili name for this, the 

 Grant and the impalah are all the same " S wal- 

 lah." This is most misleading on occasions. 



It is a deep sandy-rufous, with a black nose- 

 patch, and has a broad, clearly defined black 

 band dividing the white of its belly from its back. 

 The horns are ringed and rather frontal, curving 

 slightly backward, and straight when looked at 

 end-on, with the tips smooth and bending for- 

 ward a trifle. The female as often as not carries 

 horns. They are to be seen with and without in 

 the same herd. Whether they are easily broken 

 or not, to account for that fact, I do not know, as 

 I have never shot one with a broken horn. 



They are pretty little things, and are found in 

 herds of from ten to twenty and more. Those 

 at Naivasha between the station and the Zebra 

 Farm on the Morendat River are preserved. 



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