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Gazelle
Scientific classification: The gazelle belongs to the family
Bovidae,
subfamily Antilopinae. The Persian gazelle is classified as Gazella
subgutturosa, the dama of the Sudan as Gazella dama, Grant's
gazelle as Gazella granti, the dibatag as Ammodorcas clarkei,
and the gerenuk as Litocranius walleri.
 Gazelle,
common name for any of 16 species of small antelope,
ranging from rich brown to gray to white in color, with a streak of white
or red on the side of the face. The knees are often tufted with hair.
Horns are generally present in both the male and female, are curved
forward, and usually are ringed from base to tip. The female Persian
gazelle is hornless. The gazelle is noted for its grace and gentleness. It
is found in Africa and Asia, on deserts or open plains.
 One
of the best known of the true gazelles is the dama of the Sudan, first
described by the French naturalist G.
L. L. de Buffon. A variety of this well-known gazelle is one of the
largest gazelles, reaching 0.9 to 1.2 m in height. The most
strikingly marked animal of this group is Grant's gazelle, which is fawn
colored, with the abdomen and rump pure white. The face from horns to nose
is marked with a reddish band, on each side of which are streaks of white.
The horns, which are first curved forward and then back, reach a length of
50 to 80 cm in the male and 30 to 43 cm in the
female. One of the most common gazelles in northern Africa is the dorcas
gazelle. It has an enormous range that covers most of northern Africa and
a significant portion of the Arabian peninsula.
Of
the animals closely related to the true gazelles, the springbok
of southern Africa is best known. Another related antelope, the dibatag of
eastern Ethiopia and northern and central Somalia, has short horns 15 to
25 cm (6 to 10 in) high, present only in the male. It has a long neck and
an extremely long tail that it holds forward over its back when walking or
running. The dibatag is usually found in small groups of two or three;
groups of more than five are extremely rare. The gerenuk, found in eastern
Africa, has an elongated neck and a more solid skull than the true
gazelles. The horns, present only in the male, reach an average length of
about 35 cm (about 14 in) and are more strongly curved forward at the
points than those of the true gazelles.
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