Mountain gazelles are listed on CITES Appendix III in Tunisia and the Asian populations are listed on CITES Appendix II. The two major threats to these gazelles include habitat loss (human induces) and direct loss. Other threats include hunting and collecting, trade, alien invasive species, and hybridizers. Stricter laws in most areas have reduced poaching of this species, but habitat loss and exploitation continue to threaten populations (Mendelsohn et al., 1995; IUCN Species Survival Commission, 2000.
US Federal List: endangered
CITES: appendix ii
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: vulnerable
The horns of nountian gazelles are the most utilized form of defense against predation. They are used for butting small predators. The gazelle also has keen vision and can run at high speeds. Predation by carnivores doesn’t appear to significantly affect gazelle populations, although humans have become one of the mountain gazelle’s worst predators. (Mendelsohn et al., 1995).
Known Predators:
Male mountain gazelles weigh between 17 and 29.5 kg, whereas the smaller females weigh 16-25 kg. They are sexually dimorphic with the males being larger and having larger horns. Toothrows of mountain gazelles are nearly straight.
Gazelles have a slender build with proportionally long necks and legs. The hind legs of mountain gazelles are particularly long.
Mountain gazelles are a dark brown with white underparts, flanks, and light brown limbs. The face is marked with an off-white stripe with black lower margins. There is also a narrow, dark flank-band that separates the dark dorsal tones from the white underparts. The base of the hairs from the underside are buff colored. The black tail is short and bushy. The ears are also relatively short. The white line down the thigh stops at the hock. Pelage is short and sleek, and reflects the sun’s radiation in the summer months, and is much longer, thicker and rainproof during the winter to protect the animal from the heavy winter rains.
Both sexes have horns. The relatively short horns of the males (220-294 mm) vary greatly depending on habitat. Female mountain gazelles have horns that are less then 70% the length of males’ horns in the same population (84-153 mm). Males’ horns are thick and have prominent rings whereas the females’ horns are unringed. The horns are elliptical in a cross-section and the gap at the base is about 25 mm. Male horns bow out from the base with the tips almost always pointing in. The females’ horns are curved slightly forward. Horn shape may vary greatly within populations, but in most cases the horns resemble an S-shape. Horns also have broad grooves that run up the anterior part of the core, a groove along the posterior boarder, and a less prominent groove that runs medial to the aspect of the core (Groves and Lay, 1985; Mendelsohn et al., 1995).
Range mass: 17 to 29.5 kg.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Mountain gazelles rarely live more then eight years in nature, but in captivity they can live between 12 and 15 years (Mendelsohn et al., 1995; Wildlywise Adventures, 2001).
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 8 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 12 to 15 years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 12.0 years.
Mountain gazelles live in mountainous and hilly habitats consisting of light forests, fields, or desert plateaus. They usually spend the days in the hills bedded down and descend at night or in the early morning to forage.
Mountain gazelles live in areas with an average annual temperature of 21-23 degrees Celsius and an average winter temperature of about 14 degrees Celsius. The areas occupied by G. gazella are dry, usually with an annual precipitation of 300-400 mm (Mendelsohn et al., 1995; Massicot, 2001).
Habitat Regions: temperate
Terrestrial Biomes: scrub forest ; mountains
Gazella gazella, or mountain gazelle, is one of several closely related species found in the Middle East. Its distribution includes the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates (Mendelsohn et al., 1995; IUCN Species Survival Commission, 2000).
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Native )
Gazelles are browsers and grazers, feeding on grasses, herbs, and shrubs. Their food varies greatly and depends on habitat. In the Arabian Peninsula, gazelle distribution is closely related to the distribution of Acacia, however, in Arabia G. gazella lives mainly on the foliage of wadi beds and gorges. Only a few plants are rejected altogether. Even poisonous plants rejected by most herbivores are eaten by mountain gazelles.
Gazelles seem to be well adapted physiologically to live in harsh desert extremes. They can go without water for long periods of time and find succulent plants and dew drops an adequate source of water. Gazelles do not accumulate significant fat stores, even under the most favorable conditions (Mendelsohn et al., 1995; United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 2001; Wildlywise Adventures, 2001).
Plant Foods: leaves
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Because of their foraging behavior, mountain gazelles probably affect the plant communities where they are common. Also, although predators do not significantly affect gazelle populations, availabilty of this primary consumer may affect predator populations.
Hunting for gazelle skins, meat, and trophy horns is common, and poorly regulated.
Positive Impacts: food
The gazelles often eat the cultivated crops of the area (IUCN Species Survival Commission, 2000; Massicot, 2001).
Negative Impacts: crop pest
See Reproduction.
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
In Israel, a severe outbreak of foot and mouth disease among mountain gazelles in 1985 resulted in the death of around 50% of a herd of 3000 animals in a game reserve. Death was attributed to a combination of cardiac failure and dehydration caused by the inability of the animals to drink due to lingual muscular changes. Typical and severe oral lesions were observed in many animals, involving extensive, and in some cases, necrotic lesions of the dorsum of the tongue. Separation of the hooves was not uncommon. Some animals lost their horns, leaving a bleeding core.
Closely related species include G. dorcas, G. saudiya, G. arabica, and G. bilkis. Several subspecies are know to exist, including G. g. cora, G. g. forasani, G. g. gazella, and G. g. muscatensis. Another subspecies, G. g. cuvieri, or Cuvier’s gazelle, is the only surviving gazelle endemic to the area north of the Sahara Desert (Mendelsohn et al., 1995; Aleffgroup, 2001; Massicot , 2001).
Males and females may both mate with multiple partners.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Gazelles are found in small groups of 3-8 individuals. Males are territorial with one or more females and their young. The company females keep is determined primarily by their reproductive status. Mating occurs in early winter (October-November), but can take place year-round where food is available.
Births usually occur from April to May with the females usually only have one young per season. Estrous occurs every 18 day and lasts 12-24 hours until the female becomes pregnant. Female gazelles copulate with more then one male. The gestation period is 180 days and offspring are born weighing 11-12% of the mother’s mass. Birth takes place in isolation and the precocial young can stand and walk shortly after birth. The young spend the first weeks nursing and when they are three to six weeks old they begin to feed on solid food. Suckling may last up to three months. Around this time, the mother and young join a small maternity herd. Females may remain with their mother for life, but males leave the maternal herd at about six months of age. The males then join a herd of young males. Females reach their adult mass at about 18 months whereas males do not reach full size until three years (Mendelsohn et al., 1995; Dunham, 1999).
Breeding season: October-November
Range number of offspring: 1 to 3.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Range gestation period: 6 (low) months.
Average gestation period: 6 months.
Range weaning age: 2.5 to 3.33 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 1.5 to 3 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 1.5 to 3 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); viviparous
Average birth mass: 2360 g.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Females nurse their precocious young for up to three months. When they are three to six weeks old, they young begin to feed on solid food. Around the time of weaning, the mother and young join a small maternity herd.
Males are not involved in parental care.
Parental Investment: female parental care ; post-independence association with parents; extended period of juvenile learning
Localized (North Sinai).
Native?, extinct?
The mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), also called the true gazelle or the Palestine mountain gazelle,[3][4][5] is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed.[6]
Mountain gazelle are one of the few mammals in which both sexes have horns. Males have significantly larger horns with rings around them. Females will also have horns, but they will be thinner, smoother and shorter. Along with the horns, mountain gazelle are also sexually dimorphic in size, with males being larger than females. A mature male can range from 17 to 29.5 kg, while females are 16–25 kg in weight.[7] Mountain gazelle can reach running speeds of up to 80 km/h (50 mph).[8]
Mountain gazelle are most abundant in Israel, the West Bank in Palestine, and the Golan Heights in southern Syria, but are also found in parts of Jordan and Turkey. There are no accurate estimates on the number of individuals remaining in the wild; Israel's Parks and Nature authority estimated there to be just over 3,000 individuals in the country,[2] with less than 3,000 believed to survive outside of Israel, the West Bank and the Golan Heights.
Gazelle have adapted to live in dry, arid conditions.[2] A large amount of their moisture needs are obtained through the vegetation they consume, though they cannot go very long without water. They spend most of their time at the flat tops and crests of mountains, hills, and valleys. Adapting to an annual average temperature of 21-23 °C, gazelles prefer to bed on breezy, elevated areas to avoid the heat of the day. Around dawn and dusk, these antelope will be found cautiously traversing the hills to eat in light forests, fields, or rocky plateaus.[7] Given their preference for elevation, it seems they are less adapted to hot, dry conditions than other ungulates, like the Dorcas gazelle; this diminutive antelope appears to have outcompeted the mountain gazelle throughout some of its range in the late Holocene era, during a period of climatic warming.
The mountain gazelle is a crepuscular species; they are awake most of the day and sleep most of the night, but generally are always active in the early morning hours and around sunset. They are also very territorial within their herds, and typically stay in groups of three to eight individuals. There are two main herd-types in the mountain gazelle community, namely mother/baby “maternity” herds and bachelor male herds; older, solitary males patrol and stake out territories, as well.[7]
In the wild, mountain gazelle rarely survive past the age of eight, but can live up to 15 years in captivity with adequate care. By 12 months, a female gazelle can begin breeding.[9] For males, 18 months is when they will start breeding.[7] Being polygamous,[9] and not spending their lives with only one partner, the mountain gazelle typical breeding season is during the early winter months. Females will give birth to one offspring per year, mostly around the months of April and May.[7] A few days prior to giving birth, the mother will leave her herd for a time, and live in solitude. Upon its birth, the newborn is especially vulnerable to predation. For up to two months, the mother and her offspring will stay by themselves, the mother keeping her baby well-hidden in vegetation while she forages. The baby will not typically accompany their mother to graze for several weeks, relying solely on camouflage and lying perfectly still to avoid detection by carnivores. Upon her return, the mother watches out diligently for threats. Some predators include golden eagles, feral dogs, foxes, golden jackals, Arabian wolves and, in some areas, Arabian and Anatolian leopards.[10] While young males will stay with their mother for only six months before departing to a herd of young males, young females will sometimes join their mother in the females’ herd.[7]
Grasses and shrubs are the gazelle's most frequent source of food, with grazing being their preferred method of foraging. They are known to browse on low-hanging branches and young shoots as well, especially when their range encompasses that of the acacia tree. They can survive for long periods of time without a water source. Instead, they acquire water from succulent plants and dew droplets.[7]
The mountain gazelle underwent a series of size changes during the late Pleistocene, being smallest during the early and middle Epipalaeolithic, and reaching their largest size in the early Late Epipalaeolithic. They then slightly shrunk before stabilizing in size, in the middle Pre-Pottery Neolithic. In the early and late Natufian, human impacts (such as hunting and living in more permanent settlements) may have driven gazelle numbers down enough so as to provide more food to each animal, thus increasing average body size. Later, the greater stability of food and water from agriculture and the avoidance of humans and livestock by gazelles may have similarly reduced population size and intraspecific competition for the gazelles and allow individual animals to grow larger on average.[11]
In 1985, a large population of mountain gazelles built up through game conservation in two Israeli reserves, in the southern Golan Heights and Ramat Yissachar, was decimated by foot and mouth disease. To prevent such occurrences, a plan was drawn up to stabilize the female population at 1,000 in the Golan and 700 in Ramat Yissachar.[12]
Mountain gazelles were hunted for food, however, in 1955 hunting mountain gazelles became illegal in Israel. A 2019 estimate found there are likely 300-1300 gazelles poached annually.[13]
As the mountain gazelle's habitat has become a more urban area of the world, there are numerous threats that to the population. Habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, and collisions with cars are all anthropogenic threats to the gazelles.[13] In areas with high human disturbance, gazelles tend to face predation from feral dogs causing the population recruitment rate to be low. Golden jackals are a historic predator of the gazelles, and a study of golden jackal diets in Park Britannia, central Israel found ungulates made up 70% of the jackal's diet, of which 14% of the ungulate biomass was gazelle.[14] Gazelles may also be more susceptible to predation from golden jackals and wild boar in areas where cattle grazing is used to reduce fire risk.[15]
Ongoing conservation efforts including protecting existing populations and reestablishing gazelle populations. In 2008, the Supreme Court of Israel overturned the approval of a housing development in critical habitat where Gazella gazella gazella were listed as a petitioner on the supreme court case.[16] Additional research on the mountain gazelle and it's close relatives the Dorcas gazelle and acacia gazelle are allowing for forensic identification of the gazelles to aide wildlife forensic scientists and law enforcement to enforce wildlife protection laws.[17] Twelve mountain gazelles were released in Gazelle valley, Jerusalem where the population has rebounded from three to about 80 individuals in a 25 hectare fenced off portion of the park where they are protected from predators and car collisions.[18]
The West Bank Segregation Wall, which was built by Israel between 2000 and 2005, poses a great ecological conundrum at it separates populations of many indigenous species on both sides. The Mountain Gazelle is one of these.
Historically, some others such as the Cuvier's gazelle (G. cuvieri) were included as a subspecies,[19] but recent authorities consistently treat them as separate species.[20]
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of December 2022 (link) The mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella), also called the true gazelle or the Palestine mountain gazelle, is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed.
Byzantine-era mosaic of gazelle in Caesarea, Israel
