Common Name:Dorcas Gazelle (Desert Gazelle)
Scientific Name:Gazella Dorcas
Kingdom: Animalia
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family:Bovidae
Dorcas gazelles are small and common gazelles adapted to semidesert climates of Africa and Arabia. They have long ears and strongly curved horns, which bow outwards then turn inwards and forwards at the tips. Both males and females have horns although female horns are much thinner, lighter, and less curved. Dorcas gazelles vary in color depending on location; some have very pale, fawn-colored coats. The white underside is bordered with a brown stripe, above which is a sandy stripe. The forehead and face are darker than the body. Subspecies from north of the Sahara tend to be more ochre in color, and have dark flanks and facial stripes. Populations in Israel and around the Red Sea are darker and more reddish.
Dorcas gazelles are found in northern Africa, and the Sahara and Negev deserts including Algeria, Mauritania, Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Somalia, Tunisia, Western Sahara, Sudan, Israel, and Jordan.
These gazelles live in savannahs, steppes, small sand dune fields, wadis, mountain desert and in semi-deserts.
Dorcas gazelles are polygynous, which means that males mate with more than one female during the breeding season. However, depending on climate conditions, when food resources are scarce, Dorcas gazelles live in pairs which may suggest that they can be monogamous. During the breeding season, adult males become territorial and mark their range with dung. Mating usually takes place from September to November. Gestation lasts six months after which a single calf is born, although twins have also been reported. The newborn is well developed at birth, with fur and open eyes. Within the first hour, the calf attempts to stand, and it will suckle on this first day of life. In the first two weeks, the young gazelle lies curled up in a scrape on the ground or beneath bushes while the mother grazes close by. The young then starts to follow its mother around and begins to take solid food. After around three months, the calf stops suckling and is fully weaned.
Dorcas gazelles are herbivores (folivores, frugivores). They feed on leaves, flowers, and pods of many species of acacia trees, as well as the leaves, twigs, and fruits of various bushes. They can go their entire lives without drinking, as they can get all of the moisture they need from the plants in their diets. However, gazelles do drink when water is available.
The population of Dorcas gazelles has declined throughout its range due to overhunting. Today, the biggest threat to these gazelles is ever-expanding human civilization, which shrinks their habitat by converting it to farmland, and by introducing new flocks of domestic sheep and goats which compete with gazelles for grassland. In Morocco, Dorcas gazelles suffer from the trade of their pelts and horns for decorative and medicinal purposes. This trade could be having a significant negative impact on the local populations of this species. In Djibouti, young Dorcas gazelles are captured for the pet trade.
Vulnerable