Scientific Classification
- Common Name
- Soemmerring's gazelle
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Artiodactyla
- Family
- Bovidae
- Genus Species
- Gazella (wild goat) soemmerringi (scientific explorer)
Fast Facts
- Description
- This is a tall gazelle with tan flanks, gradually turning to white on belly and long black horns.
- Size
- Approximately 0.6 to 0.9 m (2 to 3 ft.) at the shoulder
- Weight
- 35 to 45 kg (77 to 99 lbs.)
- Diet
- Includes acacia and bush leaves, grasses, and herbs
- Incubation
- Gestation lasts approximately 6.5 months; one offspring
- Sexual Maturity
- Male: 18 to 24 months
Female: 9 to 12 months
- Life Span
- Up to 14 years
- Range
- Northeast Africa
- Habitat
- Inhabits open steppes with brush and acacia; steppes with few trees
- Population
- Global: Unknown
- Status
- IUCN: Vulnerable
CITES: Not listed
USFWS: Not listed
Fun Facts
- In many parts of North Africa and the Middle East, large stone corrals were constructed to drive herds of gazelle into, making for an easy ambush. This method of hunting started in prehistoric times and continued into the early part of the twentieth century.
- Scientists suggest that male Soemmerring's are temporarily territorial.
- Soemmerring's and Grant's gazelles' outward appearance are so similar that they are often mistaken for each other where their ranges overlap.
- At some point in history, a Soemmerring's gazelle population became isolated on Kebir Island in the Dahlak archipelago where the gazelle actually developed a dwarf form of the larger mainland races.
Ecology and Conservation
Most species of gazelle have been hunted for food over the course of history. Soemmerrings are very understudied due to their small numbers. In their former ranges, they are extinct due to over-hunting for trophies and food.
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.
