Scientific Classification
- Common Name
- slender-horned gazelle, rim, sand gazelle
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus Species
- Gazella (wild goat) leptoceros (slender horned)
Fast Facts
- Description
- This is the palest gazelle species with a cream or yellow-white colored body, pure white undersides, and a faint flank stripe. Both sexes have horns, and the hooves are somewhat broadened to ease travel on long stretches of sand.
- Size
- Approximately 65 to 72 cm (2.1 to 2.4 ft.) at the shoulder
- Weight
- 20 to 30 kg (44 to 66 lbs.)
- Diet
- Includes acacia and bush leaves, grasses, and herbs
- Incubation
- Gestation lasts approximately 156 to 169 days; one offspring
- Sexual Maturity
- Male: Approximately 18 months
Female: Approximately 6 to 9 months
- Life Span
- Up to 14 years
- Range
- Central Sahara Desert
- Habitat
- Inhabits scrub and desert regions
- Population
- Global: Approximately 5,000
- Status
- IUCN: Endangered
CITES: Appendix III
USFWS: Endangered
Fun Facts
- Due to the extreme heat of its desert environment, the slender-horned gazelle is crepuscular, feeding mostly at night and early morning.
- A normally quiet animal, gazelles signal alarm by a snort or flick of the tail, and the herd reacts by withdrawing to a safe distance. Mothers also call their young to nurse with a snorting sound.
- Slender-horned gazelles rarely need to drink water. They are able to use the dew formed on leaves and the higher water content in the plants for their water needs.
- To keep cool in the hot desert, they have a reflective white coat and specially adapted nasal passages, which help in cooling their blood.
Ecology and Conservation
The slender-horned gazelle was formerly found in Algeria, Mauritania, Egypt, and Sudan as far as the Nile River. It was once the most common of all the gazelles living in the Saharan deserts, but by the early 1970s it was in serious decline and its populations were scarce and isolated. Hunting for sport and meat was the major reason for their decline. In addition, its horns were formerly sold as ornaments in North African markets and shops.
Bibliography
Estes, R.D. The Safari Companion: A Guide to Watching African Mammals. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Co., 1993.
Gotch, A.F. Mammals-Their Latin Names Explained. Poole, U.K.: Blandford Press Btd., 1979.
Nowak, R. (ed.). Walkers Mammals of the World. Vol. II, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.
Parker, S.P. (ed.). Grizmek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol 5. New York: McGraw Hill Pub. Co., 1990.
Spinage, C.A. The Natural History of Antelopes. New York: Facts on File Pub., 1986.
Stuart, C. and T. Field Guide to the Mammals of Southern Africa. Florida: Ralph Curtis Books Pub. 1988.
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