Rhim Gazelle

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Rhim Gazelle
Conservation status
Endangered (EN)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Bovidae Genus: Gazella Species: G. leptoceros
Binomial name
Gazella leptoceros (F. Cuvier, 1842)

The Rhim Gazelle (Gazella leptoceros), also known as the Slender-horned Gazelle or the Sand Gazelle, is a slender-horned gazelle, most adapted to desert life.

[edit] Habitat

The Rhim or Rheem Gazelle is found in isolated pockets across the central Sahara Desert (Kingdom 1997, Spinage 1986). The extreme heat of this environment limits their feeding to the early morning and evening and G. leptoceros gains most of its water requirements from dew and plant moisture, relying little on open water sources.

It is a nomadic species moving across its desert range in search of vegetation, though it does not have a set migratory pattern (East 1997, Kingdom 1997).

Endangered by the early 1970's, this species of gazelle was in serious decline. They were hunted firstly by mounted then by motorized hunters for sport, meat or their horns which were sold as ornaments in North African markets.

[edit] References

• Antelope Specialist Group (1996). Gazella leptoceros. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10 May 2006. Listed as Endangered (EN C1+2a v2.3)

[edit] External links

• ARKive - images and movies of the Rhim gazelle (Gazella leptoceros)
• Bizarre Survival Tactic: Gazelles Shrink Heart to Beat Heat