Mountain Gazelle

Taxobox
name = Mountain Gazelle
status = VU | status_system = IUCN3.1
trend = down


image_width = 250px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Mammalia
ordo = Artiodactyla
familia = Bovidae
subfamilia = Antilopinae
genus = "Gazella"
species = "G. gazella"
binomial = "Gazella gazella"
binomial_authority = (Pallas, 1766)

The Mountain Gazelle ("Gazella gazella") is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed across the Arabian Peninsula. It inhabits mountains, foothills and coastal plains. Its range coincides closely with that of the acacia trees that grow in these areas. It is mainly a grazing species, though this varies with food availability. It is less well adapted to hot, dry conditions than the Dorcas Gazelle which appears to have replaced the Mountain Gazella through some of its range during the late Holocene in a period of climatic warming. There are less than 15,000 mountain gazelles left within their natural range, more than 10,000 of these being of subspecies "G. g. cora", less than 3,000 of the Israeli subspecies, "G. g. gazella", less than 1,000 of "G. g. farasani", less than 250 of "G. g. muscatensis", and 19 of subspecies "G. g. acaiae".

The Gazelle in Israel

In Israel there are three subspecies:

The Israeli gazelle - "G. g. gazella"The Israeli gazella is the most common gazelle in Israel, residing largely in three areas. Its population decreased greatly throughout its natural range in the first part of the 21st century due to poachingcite journal |last = Kaplan |first = D. |title = Langfristige Bestandsschwankungen der Edmigazelle ("Gazella gazella gazella") in Nordisrael |journal = Zeitschrift für Jagdwissenschaft |volume = 48
issue = Supplement 1 |pages = 167–171 |publisher = Springer Berlin / Heidelberg |date = 2002-12 |doi = 10.1007/BF02192405 |accessdate = ] and successful breeding of Iranian wolves, but increased thereafter in Israel due to conservation efforts.
* The southern Golan Heights has the largest population of Israeli gazelles, estimated at between 1,500 to 3,000. It is estimated that at the turn of the 21st century, there were 5000 to 6000 Israeli gazelle in the area.
* Ramot Naftali contains the second largest population of Israeli gazelles in Israel.
* The Galilee population has hundreds of Israeli gazelles in the opens areas.
* In the coastal plain, there is a small population of the gazelles but the numbers are continually decreasing because of the accelerated urbanization.

The Arava gazelle - G. g. acaiaeThe Arava gazelle is in critical danger with only 19 (counting made in 2007 of 17 plus two newborns) gazelle in a closed nature reserve near Yotvata.

The merrill gazella - G. g. merrilliThe merrill gazelle lives in the mountains near Jerusalem.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable

See also

* Gazelle Valley

External links

* ARKive - [http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/mammals/Gazella_gazella/ images and movies of the mountain gazelle "(Gazella gazella)"]