The gazelle with goiter , or Gazelle of Persia , ( Gazella subgutturosa ) belongs to the family of the Bovidae. She owes her name with the presence, in the male, of a widening of the neck and throat during the season of reproduction. She resides in central Asia and at the the Middle East. Its population strongly declined during the last years.

Systematic position

Because of the great differences existing between this species and the other gazelles, certain authors the place in a sub-genus with share: Trachelocele . There exist two subspecies of gazelle with goiter:

• Gazella subgutturosa marica (Thomas, 1897): Arabic Peninsula
• Gazella subgutturosa subgutturosa (Güldenstädt, 1780): Israel, Jordan, of the east of the the Caucasus until in Iran.

Description

Long from 90 to 115 cm, this gazelle with a height from 60 to 80 cm for a varying weight from 18 to 33 kilograms. Its tail makes from 15 to 20 centimetres length.

The body is of a light chestnut which becomes more constant with the bottom of the sides, where the brown color joined the white of the belly along a definitely defined line, sometimes underlined of black. The facial marks, characteristic of the gazelles, are quite visible only at the young individuals: with the age, the face and the muzzle bleach, even if the brown band connecting the eye to the muzzle remains. The tail is black, quite visible on the white buttocks. Contrary to the other gazelles, only the male carries horns, which can make from 25 to 43 cm length. Of dark color, these horns form a “S” very open, leaning towards the back of the animal. During the Rut, the larynx of the males develops and becomes visible outside.

Behavior

Social behavior

In summer, the gazelle with goiter moves in family small groups from two to five individuals. In winter, they cash gather in herds dozen to a hundred heads. During the season of reproduction, the male defends a territory which it marks with Excrément S and various secretions. It announces its presence by strong raucous meuglements made possible by the development of sound Larynx.

Displacements and migration

This gazelle gallops at high speed (up to 60 km/h), but without the jumps and the jumps common at the other species of gazelles. The majority of the populations carry out seasonal migrations. The herds cover in winter from 10 to 30 kilometers per day, contrary to usual one to three kilometers traversed in summer.

Food

This gazelle nourishes grass, growths and sheets. It grazes while moving and consumes approximately 30% of its mass in plants per day.

Reproduction

The period of gestation lasts from five to six months. One to two small are put at the world (there can be up to four). The female will nurse its small until they reach the age of four or five months. Sexual maturity occurs at the nine months for the females and 18 months age of for the males; the lifespan of this gazelle is approximately 11 years.

The gazelle with goiter reproduces November at January; the births take place between April and May. During the first two weeks, the small ones remain very often alone, hidden far from their mother who returns to nurse them three times per day. They will follow their mother only when their legs have sufficient force and stability.

Distribution and habitat

One finds it in the Arabic Peninsula, in Iran, in Azerbaïdjan and in the south-west of the Pakistan, like in the Gobi Desert .

Its habitat is generally in the plains or plates of the deserts or semi-deserts, which they are sandy or stony.

Statute and safeguarding

On all its surface of distribution, the gazelle with goiter is victim of the hunting and the disappearance of its habitat. It is always largely spread, but its manpower decrease quickly. Although it is estimated that there exist still important populations in the Gobi Desert (Mongolia, Kazakhstan), certain populations as those of the Turkménistan almost disappeared.

The world population of this gazelle was estimated at 120.000-140 000 individuals by Mallon and Kingswood in 2001. It underwent since such a decline that the IUCN classified this species in the “vulnerable” category, according to the criterion A2 (reduction of the population estimated at 80% at the time of the 10 last years). IUCN also classified the subspecies G. subgutturosa marica in the “vulnerable” category, but according to the C2Ai criterion (less than 250 mature individuals in a declining population, with less than 50 mature individuals in each group of population).

The Convention of Bonn as for it classified the whole species in appendix II.

This species is also protected by the Convention from Bern since 2002 (appendix II).

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