Cuvier's gazelle
| Cuvier's gazelle | |
|---|---|
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| At the San Diego Zoo | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Antilopinae |
| Genus: | Gazella |
| Species: | G. cuvieri |
| Binomial name | |
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Gazella cuvieri (Ogilby, 1841) |
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Cuvier's gazelle (Gazella cuvieri) is a species of gazelle found in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. It is also known as the edmi. It is one of the darkest species of gazelle in coloring, due to its partial woodland habitat. It is sometimes placed in a separate genus, Trachelocele, from other gazelles, together with goitered gazelles and rhim gazelles. It is very rare in the wild with only 2000 individuals.
The Cuvier’s gazelle is one of the darkest and smallest of the gazelle species, standing 60–69 cm (1.97–2.26 ft) tall, with an average weight of 35 kg (77 lb). It is characterized by a distinctive wide, dark band that runs along the sides of the animal, which separates the brown dorsal parts from the white ventral parts. While both sexes have horns between 10 and 15 cm (3.9 and 5.9 in) long, the males' are more ribbed and have greater mass. Also they possess long, slender ears.
The purpose of the dark bands that run parallel along the side of the animal is to aid in countershading, having ventral body pelage that is more lightly colored that the dorsal surface. This may reduce the shadows produced by the animal’s body. The sun shining downward on the animal will cause an unequal distribution of light, disrupting the pattern created by its silhouette. The darker colors compared to other gazelles could be explained by its shadier habitats.
In the past, the reason for decline of the gazelle was overhunting for skins, meat, and trophies. In the 1930s, it was already considered one of the rarest gazelles, but it was not listed as endangered until the 1960s. Though it is now unlawful to hunt this animal, they still suffer from habitat stress due to local farmers destroying habitat for pastureland and competition from sheep and goats.
Once thought to be extinct in the wild, the gazelle’s population is now thought to be less than 2000, occupying small pockets of the Atlas Mountains. Many of the animals can be found on protected land in Tunisia, but this is not the case in Morocco and Algeria, where many of the animals are still being outcompeted for food from livestock. One of the most important refuges is Djebel Chambi National Park, which holds the largest population in Tunisia. In Algeria the 200,000 ha Saharan Atlas National Park is a refuge for about hundred Cuvier's gazelles. The Belezma National Park has about 20, but this figure is uncertain and a reintroduction has been planned.
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Wikipedia