Gazelle Vs. Antelope. If you have ever seen a gazelle or an antelope, you might be scratching your head and asking how to tell them apart. At first glance, you wouldn’t be wrong to think they look the same. Most likely, you’d scratch your head and ask, “Gazelle vs. antelope? Which one is it?” When they are young, like a calf or baby.

But we’re here to give you a clear explanation of each one so there are no more mistakes. Plus, you’ll look good when you can name them all.

A Look At Gazelle

Not all antelopes are gazelles, but all gazelles are antelopes. To be more exact, gazelle is a genus of antelope, which means that they are related in terms of classification but not as much as species.

These are easy to spot because their bodies are silky tan and have stripes and spots on them.

Some of the places they live are Asia and China. Their horns are shaped like rings. Besides that, you can find them from the Horn of Africa to Tanzania.

Because they don’t need as much water as some species do, they eat plant leaves and roots.

They are also very quick, so they can get out of a tight spot quickly. This is important because they are often eaten by cheetahs and even pythons. There are feet on both of gazelles’ toes, which helps them jump or sneak away from danger.

They are all part of the gazelle gang:

The Thomson’s Gazelle
Gazelle of Grant
The Gerenuk Steenbok
The Oribi Springbok
Dik-dik (the smallest, by the way)

A Quick Look At Antelope

When comparing gazelle and antelope, the antelope has smoother hair, horns that look more straight, and toes that are all the same length. Two-thirds of female antelopes don’t have horns, but most male antelopes do.

Because these species are bigger, they are not as fast as gazelles. They also eat a little differently, as some species of antelopes like to eat small animals, birds, and insects.

When it’s dry and the feed has less than 40% water content, an antelope will drink about 2.8 liters of water a day. However, they will only do this if they can’t get water from eating things like grass, leaves, or mulch.

The following animals are antelopes:

Oryx, Impala, Eland, and Waterbuck
Kudu, wildebeest, and duiker
The Klipspringer
Wild Boar
antelope, hartebeest, topi, and sable
All gazelles

Different parts of Africa and Europe are home to different kinds of antelope. There are 91 species of antelope, so we don’t blame you if you don’t know what makes each one unique. You might even find a unicorn once in a while.

Are they alike in any way?

That you know about each species, it’s time to talk about how they are alike. These similarities between antelope and gazelle may be why we often get them mixed up. The most important difference is that both are bovids, which is a pretty big group of animals.

Both are generally thought of as herbivores, though some antelopes, like the duiker, might be a little more specific because they can be thought of as omnivores. This can be changed, though, based on the situation and how hard it is to get some sources.

One big thing that these two types of bovid have in common is that they both like to move in small to large groups. Some of these groups can have up to 700 members. But antelopes can move in groups of thousands, which is more clear when you see them on their yearly migration.

In conclusion

When gazelles are in danger, you can see how they jump or slot to warn other animals in their group or get away from a threat. You can also see this behavior happen when they are mating.

An interesting fact is that antelopes can live in a lot of different places, like deserts, cold tundras, and areas near lakes and seas. Also, some gazelles, like the Tibetan, prefer to live in high mountain meadows while other species are better suited to living in dry and desert areas.