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Gazelle

Gazelles

|- | style="text-align:center;" | Image:Thompson's_Gazelle.jpeg
Thompson's Gazelle |- style="text-align:center;" ! style="background: pink;" | Scientific classification |- style="text-align:center;" |

|- valign=top |Kingdom:||Animalia |- valign=top |Phylum:||Chordata |- valign=top |Class:||Mammalia |- valign=top |Order:||Artiodactyla |- valign=top |Family:||Bovidae |- valign=top |Genus:||Gazella |} |- style="text-align:center; background:pink;" !Species |- | Several, see text |} A gazelle is an antelope of the genus Gazella. Gazelles are known as swift animals; they can reach speeds of up to 100 km/hour, and maintain speeds of 50 km/h for a long time. Gazelles are mostly found in the grasslands and savannas of Africa, but also in south-west Asia. They live in large herds and eat grass.

A recognizable example of the gazelle is Thomson's Gazelle (Gazella thomsonii), which is around 60 to 90 cm in height at the shoulder and is coloured brown and white with a distinguishing black stripe (as in the picture on the right). The males have long, often curved, horns. Tommies, as they are familiarly called, exhibit a distinctive behaviour of stotting (that is running slowly and jumping high before fleeing) when they are threatened by predators such as lions or cheetahs. This is a primary piece of evidence for the handicap theory advanced by Amotz Zahavi in the study of animal communication and behaviour.

Species

  • Indian Gazelle , G. bennettii
  • Cuvier's Gazelle , G. cuvieri
  • Dama gazelle , G. dama
  • Dorcas Gazelle , G. dorcas
  • Mountain Gazelle , G. gazella
  • Grant's Gazelle , G. granti
  • Rhim Gazelle , G. leptoceros
  • Red-fronted Gazelle , G. rufifrons
  • Saudi Gazelle , G. saudiya
  • Slender-horned Gazelle , G. leptoceros
  • Soemmerring's Gazelle , G. soemmerringii
  • Speke's Gazelle , G. spekei
  • Goitered Gazelle, G. subgutturosa
  • Thomson's Gazelle , G. thomsonii


This article is about the animal. See also Gazelle, California and GAZelle automobile.


Last updated: 04-30-2005 10:37:28