The national animal of Malawi is the Thompson’s gazelle. These are the most well-known species of gazelle and are sometimes called tommie. They are relatively small among gazelle and hold a great deal of literal and metaphorical significance to the people of Malawi. They are considered among the most important members of the country’s wildlife.
Thompson’s gazelle are perhaps among Africa’s most iconic animals.
They are instantly recognizable by a variety of their bodily features and they play an important role in the natural landscape of many African nations including Malawi.
Let’s find out more.
What is the national animal of Malawi?
The national animal of Malawi is the Thompson’s gazelle.
As mentioned, this is among the most iconic and well-known species of gazelle in the world, and perhaps the single most recognized.
They take their name from the explorer Joseph Thomson, a British geologist who played a role in the Scramble for Africa.
They are the most common type of gazelle in East Africa and can be found in numbers far exceeding 200,000, making them of least concern on the IUCN Red List.
They are a small, fast antelope, claimed to have top speeds as high as 55mph.
They are the fourth fastest land animal, after cheetah, pronghorn, and springbok.
They are a member of the genus Eudorcras, and were first described by modern naturalism in 1884 by Albert Gunther, a British zoologist.
They stand around 24 to 28 inches tall at the shoulder, and males weigh anywhere from 44 to 77 pounds.
Females weigh slightly less on average, around 33 to 55 pounds.
They have white rings around their eyes and their most iconic feature is perhaps the long, black stripe on their faces and along their bodies.
They have an otherwise sandy brown coat on their backs and the fronts of their legs and a white underside.
Both males and females possess horns which curve backwards, and the tips face forwards.
Their horns are ringed and measure around 10 to 17 inches in males and no longer than six inches in females.
Some females may be entirely hornless. Younger males will sometimes fight one another for social dominance or mates, but as they get older they tend to replace these actual fights with simple displays of strength.
Weaker, smaller males may back down in the face of a more powerful male.
When fights do occur, though, they will lock and crash horns.
Why is the Thompson’s gazelle the national animal of Malawi?
There are a few reasons why the Thompson’s gazelle is the national animal of Malawi.
They are seen, on the one hand, as important symbolic embodiments of many vital Malawian national values.
They are seen as spirits of freedom, beauty, and grace, with their bodies exhibiting a great degree of elegance and beauty.
They are also seen as embodiments of unity given that they live in large social groups.
All of these factors make them very important to the people of Malawi and thus they have come to be seen as among the most important national symbols.
On the other hand, they also represent Malawian natural beauty on a more literal level.
They are among the most iconic members of the country’s wildlife and, again, as mentioned, they are perhaps the single most iconic and recognizable species of gazelle in Malawi and in Africa in general.
Given their long importance to the people of this part of the world, they may embody many different things depending on whom you ask.
There is no single, official reason why they are considered the national animal; they are just very important to the people of Malawi in a great variety of ways.
Where do Thompson’s gazelle live?
They live mostly in East African savannahs and grassland, favoring the Serengeti region in Kenya and Tanzania.
Their preferences are fairly narrow, and they prefer short grassland with a study foundation.
They can migrate, though, and will sometimes move into denser grass and even woodland as needed.
So, despite their large population numbers and common place among the wildlife of East Africa, they are fairly picky in terms of where they will live.
They are, though, also quite well adaptable and will move around as they need to and as food become available.
What do Thompson’s gazelle eat?
Thompson’s gazelle are almost entirely dependent on short grasses.
The grasses will constitute around 90% of their diet in the dry season, though they will also eat seeds and shrubs.
This is why gazelle will often follow larger animals like zebra and wildebeest: as these herds move they will trample huge parts of the grassland which makes it much easier for them to eat.
So, their diet is fairly simple, and they will eat mostly grass when they can get it.
They don’t really have the constitution to eat much else, though they will browse for other things when the short grasses are not as readily available.
So, there are many reasons why the Thompson’s gazelle was chosen as the national animal of Malawi.
They are iconic animals in the country and embody a great many aspects of national spirit.
The country’s natural landscape would no doubt look very different without them, and on a simple level they are among the most beautiful animals in the country.
They are and continue to be among the most symbolically significant animals in the country and no doubt will remain so.