One of the best rides at Disney’s Animal Kingdom is Kilimanjaro Safaris. Guests ride on a big safari vehicle and get to see lots of African animals in their habitat. I love to take pictures of all the animals, but when I get home I often wish I knew the names of the animals in my pictures and maybe some facts about them. In Safari Stars, my new series, I will introduce you to 10 African animals found on Kilimanjaro Safaris. Along with a picture and their name I’ll give you 5 fun facts about each animal. Happiness Squared. Today’s animal is the Thomson’s gazelle.
As my photo shows these animals can be hard to spot. They are well adapted to the savanna, which is good because they are fast food to most of the predators living on the plains. Good thing there are lots of them in the wild.
Kilimanjaro Safaris is the only place you can see these fleet-footed animals in the park. Look carefully and if you are lucky you will see them. They have a beautiful coat and long gracious horns. I wouldn’t want to get up close to those horns, but they are majestic. Happiness squared.
5 fun facts about Thomson’s gazelles:
1) The Thomson’s gazelle is named after explorer Joseph Thomson. Thomson’s gazelles are sometimes known as “Tommies”. They are the most abundant gazelle in East Africa.
2) Thomson’s gazelles live where there is short grass. They can run up to 40 miles per hour across the savanna.
3) Mother gazelles give birth twice a year and hide their young in thick grass. The newborn gazelles may stay there for days or weeks before they join the herd.
4) Those horns are not just for looks. Male Thomson’s gazelles aggressively defend their territories, clashing their horns against a rival’s until one becomes the winner.
5) Thomson’s gazelle herds can have ten to thousands of gazelles in them. The herds grow larger as the rainy season arrives providing more food and water for the whole herd.
Do you think you can outrun a Thomson’s gazelle?
Goofy Tip: When you are on Kilimanjaro Safaris don’t worry about learning the names of all the animals. Instead of looking at the sheet posted over your head look out at the landscape. An animal might move out of sight at any moment so keep your eyes peeled and your camera clicking. Once you are home you can use A Goofy Idea, AllEars.net, or other sites to label the animals in your pictures.
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