A gazelle is a type of antelope, not a separate animal. The relationship is similar to how a golden retriever is a type of dog: all gazelles are antelopes, but most antelopes are not gazelles. The term “antelope” covers a huge range of hoofed mammals in the family Bovidae, from the 2,200-pound giant eland to the rabbit-sized royal antelope. Gazelles are one smaller, more specific group within that family.
How Gazelles Fit Into the Antelope Family
“Antelope” is not a single scientific category. It’s a broad label applied to dozens of species across the family Bovidae, which also includes cattle, sheep, and goats. What most people picture when they think of an antelope, the graceful, horned animals of African savannahs, actually spans wildebeests, impalas, waterbucks, sable antelopes, duikers, and many more. These animals vary enormously in size, shape, and behavior.
Gazelles belong to the tribe Antilopini within this larger family. The core genus, Gazella, contains about ten recognized species, split between Africa and Asia. Three are found only in Africa, five only in Asia, and one spans both continents. A few additional Asian species in the genus Procapra, including the Tibetan gazelle, Przewalski’s gazelle, and the Mongolian gazelle, are also commonly called gazelles, bringing the total closer to 13 or 14 depending on how you count.
Size Is the Most Obvious Difference
If you’re looking at a hoofed animal on an African plain and trying to figure out whether it’s a gazelle or some other antelope, size is the fastest clue. Gazelles are relatively small, typically standing 2 to 3.5 feet tall at the shoulder and weighing around 66 pounds. A Thomson’s gazelle, one of the most commonly photographed species, stands just 24 to 28 inches tall.
Other antelopes can be dramatically larger. The giant eland stands about 6 feet at the shoulder and weighs around 2,200 pounds. At the other extreme, the royal antelope is only 10 to 12 inches tall, making it smaller than most gazelles. But the broad trend holds: gazelles cluster in the small-to-medium range, while the full antelope spectrum covers everything from pocket-sized to cattle-sized.
Facial Markings and Body Patterns
Gazelles tend to share a recognizable visual template: a light brown or tan upper body, a white belly, and bold facial and flank markings that vary by species. These patterns are one of the easiest ways to tell gazelle species apart from each other.
Thomson’s gazelle has a distinctive black horizontal band running along its flanks from the front legs to the hind legs, plus a black stripe down each side of the muzzle from below the eyes to the nose. Grant’s gazelle carries a black stripe through the eyes toward the muzzle, bordered on both sides by white patches. The red-fronted gazelle is named for the red patch of fur on its forehead and reddish muzzle markings. Cuvier’s gazelle has dark and white face bands running down the muzzle, with a dark band along its flanks separating the upper body from the lighter underparts.
Other antelopes show far more variety. Kudus have vertical white body stripes. Wildebeests have shaggy manes and broad, ox-like faces. Impalas are sleek and relatively unmarked. The “antelope look” varies so widely that there isn’t really a single template the way there is for gazelles.
Horns in Both Sexes
Most gazelle species grow horns in both males and females, which is not universal among antelopes. In many larger antelope species, only males carry horns. Among gazelles, the difference between the sexes shows up in horn size rather than presence. Female horns are noticeably shorter. In some Middle Eastern gazelle populations, female horns reach only about 36% of male horn length, while in others they grow to roughly half. In species like the dorcas gazelle, females develop well-proportioned horns that likely serve functions beyond just display, possibly helping with defense or competition for resources.
Where Gazelles Live
Gazelles generally inhabit dry, open savannah grasslands and scrub habitats, primarily in Africa and parts of Asia. In Africa, they’re concentrated in eastern and northeastern countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Sudan. Grant’s gazelle populations, for example, are largest in Ethiopia’s Omo and Borana regions, Kenya’s northern rangelands and Serengeti-adjacent areas, and Tanzania’s Serengeti.
Gazelles favor grassland over denser vegetation. During wet seasons, they concentrate in open grassland where fresh growth is abundant. When food becomes scarce in dry seasons, they shift toward surrounding shrubs and bushes. The Asian gazelle species occupy similar open habitats, from the Arabian Peninsula through Central Asia and into Mongolia and the Tibetan Plateau.
Other antelopes fill a much wider range of ecosystems. Kudus prefer woodlands. Duikers live in dense forests. Waterbucks stay near rivers and wetlands. Sable antelopes favor wooded savannahs. This ecological diversity is part of what makes “antelope” such a broad category compared to the more habitat-specific gazelles.
Stotting: A Signature Gazelle Behavior
One behavior strongly associated with gazelles is stotting, also called pronking. This is the distinctive leap where the animal springs into the air with all four legs extended simultaneously, bouncing repeatedly as if on a pogo stick. Thomson’s gazelles and springbok (a close gazelle relative) are especially known for it.
Scientists have debated for decades why gazelles do this. The leading explanations include honest signaling, where the gazelle is essentially telling a predator “I’m fit enough to waste energy on this, so don’t bother chasing me,” and alarm signaling, where the leaps warn nearby herd members about a predator. A 2023 study in Royal Society Open Science added a more mechanical explanation: when escaping through terrain scattered with rocks, bushes, or other obstacles, pronking becomes the fastest way to cover ground once obstacle density crosses a certain threshold. Rather than processing each obstacle individually, the gazelle executes a rapid series of identical leaps that statistically maximize its chance of clearing everything in its path. Below that obstacle threshold, a flat-out gallop is faster. The real answer is likely some combination of all these functions, depending on the situation.
Quick Comparison
- Category: Gazelles are a specific subgroup within the broader antelope family
- Size: Gazelles weigh around 66 pounds and stand 2 to 3.5 feet tall; other antelopes range from 10 inches to 6 feet and up to 2,200 pounds
- Horns: Both sexes typically have horns in gazelles; many other antelopes grow horns only in males
- Habitat: Gazelles stick to open grasslands and scrub in Africa and Asia; other antelopes occupy forests, wetlands, woodlands, and mountains worldwide
- Markings: Gazelles share a common pattern of facial stripes and flank bands on a tan-and-white body; other antelopes vary enormously in coloring and pattern
- Species count: About 10 to 14 gazelle species, compared to roughly 90 antelope species total