Real gazelle
| Real gazelle | ||||||||||||
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Real gazelle ( Gazella gazella ), male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Gazella gazella | ||||||||||||
| ( Pallas , 1766) |
The real Gazelle ( Gazella gazella ), also mountain gazelle called, is a mammal of the family Bovidae . It occurs on the Arabian Peninsula .
features
This gazelle reaches a head-torso length of 98 to 115 cm and a weight of 16 to 29.5 kg. Males are on average 10 cm longer and slightly heavier than females. Edmiga cells in deserts are often significantly lighter than other populations. The tail becomes 8 to 13 cm long. Horns occur in both sexes, but the horns of the males are 22 to 29 cm long, significantly larger than the 6 to 12 cm long horns of the females.
The whole body is noticeably narrow with a long neck and long legs. The fur on the back and sides of the body is dark brown. The belly, the inside of the limbs and the rear part are white. Often these two areas are separated by a distinct dark band. Characteristic are two vertical white lines on the face from the horns, over the eyes to the nose area.
Distribution and habitat
The real gazelle used to have a large distribution area on the Arabian Peninsula and was also found on the Sinai Peninsula until the 1930s . Today she lives mainly in Israel , Saudi Arabia , Oman , the United Arab Emirates and Yemen .
The species resides mainly in semi-deserts and deserts and occasionally visits open forests. The landscape is mostly characterized by flat rocky mountains. The Edmigazelle also lives in coastal sand dunes and on plateaus. In the distribution area, the temperatures fluctuate between a few minus degrees and plus 45 ° C.
Systematics
The real gazelle distinguishes between five to six subspecies.
- Arab mountain gazelle ( G. g. Cora ) in Saudi Arabia and Oman; extinct in Yemen. Around 10,000 animals are still alive, 90% of them in Oman. The population continues to decrease rapidly due to hunting (25% decrease from 1996 to 2003). Endangered.
- Farasan Gazelle ( G. g. Farasani ), only on the Farasan Islands in the Red Sea, which belong to Saudi Arabia . As the islands are a nature reserve, this subspecies is the least threatened. There are around 1000 specimens of this subspecies.
- Palestine mountain gazelle ( G. g. Gazella ) in northern Israel and Lebanon; exterminated in Syria, Jordan and Egypt. After an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease caused populations to drop to 3,000, the subspecies was classified as threatened. It is strictly protected in Israel.
- Acacia gazelle ( G. g. Acaciae ) in southern Israel; this is apparently a relic population that was isolated in the Arawa Valley north of Eilat after the end of the Ice Age . In the 1950s several hundred gazelles lived here on an area of 7.5 km². Due to the diversion of bodies of water, this valley was no longer adequately supplied with water, which triggered mass extinction. Today there are still about twenty of these gazelles. They are strictly protected, but are also subject to hunting by wolves and jackals.
- Muscat gazelle ( G. g. Muscatensis ) in the northern coastal region of Oman; road construction and urban sprawl made these gazelles extremely rare; their stock was last below a hundred.
Way of life
Activity and food
The real gazelle is mainly active in the morning and late evening. In regions more densely populated by people, it can also be active at night. During the warmest hours of the day, the animals rest in a sheltered place. The food mostly consists of grass and herbaceous plants as well as leaves from bushes and trees. In arid areas, the gazelles dig for bulbs and tubers.
Social behavior and reproduction
Dominant males usually live alone in a territory that they defend against other males. Females and their offspring form temporary or permanent groups with three to eight members. Young males unite in bachelor groups. When two adult males each other followed by a posturing after which the apparently weaker males withdraws. Fights are rarely fought, which can then result in permanent wounds.
Depending on the distribution area, mating takes place all year round or only between spring and early summer. After a gestation of around 180 days, the female usually gives birth to a single young. A few days earlier, the mother separates from her group. The offspring can walk shortly after birth, but remain in a hiding place guarded by the mother for the first few weeks. Then the mother and the young go on short trips and about two months after the birth, they both join the group. After about four months, the young animal is no longer suckled. Females usually stay in the mother's group and males leave it after about six months. Sexual maturity occurs in females after 12 months and in males after around 20 months. The first successful mating, however, only takes place in the second year of life (females) or after three years (males) after their own territory has been established.
Real gazelles in human care lived up to 13 years old, in the wild they are estimated to be 8 years old.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g Dr. David Blankenhorn: Mountain gazelle ( Engl. ) ARKive.org. December 20, 2006. Archived from the original on April 14, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ↑ a b Gazella gazella in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group, 2008. Accessed April 23, 2012th
- ^ Wilson & Reeder (2005) Gazella gazella
literature
- Don E. Wilson, DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World . 3rd edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 .
