Mountain gazelle

Mountain gazelle

Scientific name
Gazella gazella
Order
mammals
Family
פריים Bovidae
Social Structure
Herd
Activity
Food
Vegetarian
Eats grass and leaves
Dangers

Hunting, habitat destruction

תוכנית שימור בגן
conservation status
VU
Extinct
EX
Extinct in the Wild
EW
Critically endangered
CR
Endangered
EN
Vulnerable
VU
Near Threatened
NT
least Concern
LC
Deficient Data
DD
In the Bible

Thy beauty (gazelle), O Israel, upon thy high places is slain! How are the mighty fallen! (Samuel II, 1:19)

Weight
KG
30
-
17
Life Expectancy
years
12
Interesting To Know

Gazelles are excellent runners and can reach speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour, running for hundreds of meters at a time. Running is the main way that gazelles escape from predators, however they can also jump high or kick with their hind legs when in danger. Their horns serve them during conflicts between male individuals and are used to keep small predators away. Gazelles have excellent hearing and vision, which enables them to sense a predator or danger from a distance. This also serves them in searching for food and identifying territories. Today, the gazelle population is shrinking, mainly due to habitat destruction, paving of roads, illegal hunting, and capture by predators such as jackals, wolves, and wild dogs. In Israel in 1985, there was a breakout of foot and mouth disease, which wiped out roughly 1,500 gazelles. There are, however, regions of Israel with stable and even growing gazelle populations.

In Israel there are three sub-species: the Israeli gazelle, the Negev gazelle, and the Shitim gazelle, of which very few individuals remain, in the Arava region.

There is a visible difference between the sexes, as the male is larger, and his horns are longer than those of the female. Additionally, the male’s horns are thicker and have rings on them, while the female’s horns do not have rings. The gazelle’s coat has a grey-brown hue, while its belly is white. It has a short, black tail.

Photo: Shai Ben Ami

Endangered status
vu
Worldwide
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Israel
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