Mountain gazelle

species of mammal

The mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) is a species of gazelle. It lives in Palestine, the West Bank in Palestine, the Golan Heights in northern Palestine, and Turkey [3] [4] It lives in mountains, foothills, and coastal plains. It is the National animal of Palestine.

Mountain gazelle[1]
Mountain gazelle (male)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Genus: Gazella
Species:
G. gazella
Binomial name
Gazella gazella
(Pallas, 1766)

Description change

Mountain gazelles are one of the few mammals, where the male and female have horns. Males have bigger horns with rings around them. Females also have horns, but they are thinner and shorter. Mountain gazelles are sexually dimorphic, which means that males are larger than females. Male can weigh from 17-29.5 kg. Females can weigh 16–25 kg. Mountain gazelles can run up to 80 km/h (50 mph).[5]

Habitat change

Gazelles have adapted to live in dry, desert-like places. They spend most of their time at the top of mountains and hills. Mountain gazelles prefer to sleep on the tops of hills/mountains to avoid the heat in the day. Around dawn and dusk, they will be found leaving the hills to eat in light forests, fields, or desert plateaus.[5]

Feeding change

It is a grazing species, though this varies with the amount of food available. They can survive for a long time without a source of water. During that time, they get freshwater from succulent plants and dew from plants.[5]

References change

  1. Grubb, P. (2005). "Gazella gazella". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 637–722. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2017). "Gazella gazella". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T8989A50186574. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T8989A50186574.en.
  3. Yom-Tov, Yoram; Balaban, Amir; Hadad, Ezra; Weil, Gilad; Roll, Uri (September 2021). "The plight of the Endangered mountain gazelle Gazella gazella". Oryx. 55 (5): 771–778. doi:10.1017/S003060531900108X. ISSN 0030-6053.
  4. Çoğal, Muhsin; Sözen, Mustafa (2017-02-07). "The status and distribution of Gazella gazella (Artiodactyla: Mammalia), and other mammals of the Hatay province in southern Turkey". Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution. 63 (2): 44–49. doi:10.1163/22244662-06301003. ISSN 2224-4662.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Gazella gazella". Animal Diversity Web.