Gazelle Varieties

Sleek, graceful and exotic are just a few of the words that come to mind at the mention of the word "gazelle." Perhaps most familiar as a preyed-upon species in documentaries about lions and cheetahs in the African savanna. Bringing to mind the Biblical proverb, "Deliver yourself like the gazelle from the hand of a hunter," these fleet-footed, medium-sized antelopes also roam widely over the arid lands of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia. The world's 14 surviving species of gazelle, some of them endangered, are divided into three genera: Gazella, Eudorcas and Nanger.

  1. Habitat

    • Gazelles inhabit mostly dry environments, from the semi-arid grasslands of eastern Africa to the bone-dry deserts of Mongolia. Though most gazelles live in wide-open plains, some have adapted to live in mountainous terrain. They can extract water from the plants they eat -- some can go their entire lives without taking a drink of water -- and have evolved ways of maintaining moisture in their bodies. The gazelle's light-colored coat, usually tan with a white undercoat and rump, reflects sunlight. Gazelles prefer the shade and avoid eating during the hottest part of the day, but can tolerate increases in their core temperature of as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Characteristics

    • In addition to their tan-and-white coats, most gazelles have dark stripes on their sides and contrasting facial markings. They have large and distinctive ringed horns prized by hunters. Long and slender legs make them fast runners -- the Thompson's gazelle of Africa (Gazella thomsonii) can hit speeds of up to 40 miles per hour. Gazelles also employ bounding leaps called "slotting" or "plonking" to try to evade predators. Gazelles live in large herds and are nomadic or migratory -- and sometimes both.

    Africa

    • Africa hosts both the largest gazelle, the dama gazelle (Nanger dama), standing up to 47 inches tall at the shoulder and weighing up to 165 lbs., and the smallest -- the dorcas gazelle (G. dorcas) and Speke's gazelle (G. spekei) each weighing in the range of 33 to 55 lbs. and standing 1 1/2 to 2 feet tall. The Atlas gazelle (G. cuvieri) ranges in the Atlas Mountains of northwestern Africa, while the rhim or slender-horned gazelle (G. leptoceros), inhabits the sand deserts of the Sahara. The Grant's gazelle (N. granti), noticeably larger than the Thompson's gazelle which it resembles, has lyre-shaped horns that are the largest of all of the gazelle species, measuring 18 to 32 inches.

    Asia

    • In addition to the dorcas gazelle, three other species of the genus Gazella call the Arabian Peninsula home: the mountain gazelle (G. gazelle), the goitered, or sand gazelle (G. subgutturosa), and the Saudi gazelle (G. saudiya), which exists only in captivity. The range of the goitered gazelle -- so-called because the male's larynx protrudes during rutting -- stretches from the Near East to as far away as Mongolia and northeastern China. The Wadi Araba gazelle (G. gazelle acaciae), native to Palestine, faces the threat of extinction. Native to the deserts of India and Pakistan is the Indian gazelle, or chinara (G. bennetti).