Cuvier’s Gazelle
Gazella cuvieri
Endangered.
DISTRIBUTION
Thought to be extinct in the wild, small isolated populations may possibly be found in the high mountains of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
SIZE
Height of 61 cm (2’).
Weight 35 kg (77 lbs).
HABITAT
Open forests to areas of low rainfall, rocky desert and semi-desert steppes.
REPRODUCTION
Single lamb (occasional twins) after 180 day gestation period.
DIET
Grazers and browsers eating grass, leaves, succulents and shrubs.
INTERESTING TIDBITS
- Cuvier’s Gazelle is the only surviving gazelle endemic to the area north of the Sahara.
- They live in a matriarchal society with a single male accompanying a herd of females. Males live nomadically except for breeding season.
- Their main defense is nervous alertness and speed.
- When alarmed, Cuvier’s Gazelle exhibit a stotting gait with all four feet landing on the ground together.
- Major cause of decline is the fact they have been easily hunted from motorized vehicles.
- Hunted for meat and trophy heads.
- They suffer from habitat loss, competing with domestic sheep and goats for the same often over-grazed pasture.
- Early in 2005, Mountain View sent a herd of ten Cuvier’s Gazelles into a game reserve in the United Arab Emirates.
ANIMAL FACT SHEET
To download the information from this page and also get a full page photo of the Cuvier's Gazelle click here for a PDF.
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