Large congregations of animals occur during the wet season, with the animals breaking up into smaller groups during the dry season. They are essentially a grazing species, but they have been recorded to flourish on a diet consisting mainly of browse and seasonal plants. Although drinking water is not essential, gemsbok will dig for succulent subterranean roots and bulbs. When fresh water is available, they drink about 26 litres per individual every five days, which is an amount similar to that required by blue wildebeest on a daily basis. Gemsbok occur in mixed herds, nursery herds and solitary, territorial males.
Territorial males are much more tolerant of other males than the males of other species.
An absolute dominance hierarchy is established within the mixed herds, and among the non-territorial males, all being subordinate to the territorial male. Gemsbok seen on Tau cam Male gemsbok territories range from 7.6 to 17 square kilometres in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, which are maintained for up to three years. Territorial male gemsbok exhibit a characteristic and specialised defecation posture in the form of a low crouch. This is to ensure that the fecal pellets lie in a small pile and thus retain their odour longer than if they had been scattered. This is a means of territorial marking.