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Gazelle

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This article is about the antelope species. For other uses, see Gazelle (disambiguation).

Gazella
Temporal range: Miocene-Recent 14–0 Ma
Chinkara from Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Antilopinae
Tribe: Antilopini
Genus: Gazella
Blainville, 1816
Type species
Capra dorcas[1]
Species

Several, see text

A gazelle is one of many antelope species in the genus Gazella /ɡəˈzɛlə/.[2] There are also seven species included in two further genera; Eudorcas and Nanger, which were formerly considered subgenera of Gazella. A third former subgenus, Procapra, includes three living species of Asian gazelles.

Gazelles are known as swift animals. Some can run at bursts as high as 100 km/h (60 mph) or run at a sustained speed of 50 km/h (30 mph).[3] Gazelles are found mostly in the deserts, grasslands, and savannas of Africa, but they are also found in southwest and central Asia and the Indian subcontinent. They tend to live in herds, and eat fine, easily digestible plants and leaves.

Gazelles are relatively small antelopes, most standing 60–110 cm (2–3.5 ft) high at the shoulder, and are generally fawn-colored.

The gazelle genera are Gazella, Eudorcas, and Nanger. The taxonomy of these genera is confused, and the classification of species and subspecies has been an unsettled issue. Currently, the genus Gazella is widely considered to contain about 10 species.[4] One subspecies is extinct: the Queen of Sheba's gazelle. Most surviving gazelle species are considered threatened to varying degrees. Closely related to the true gazelles are the Tibetan goa, and Mongolian gazelles (species of the genus Procapra), the blackbuck of Asia, and the African springbok.

One widely familiar gazelle is the African species Thomson's gazelle (Eudorcas thomsonii), sometimes referred to as a "tommie". It is around 60 to 70 cm (24 to 28 in) in shoulder height and is coloured brown and white with a distinguishing black stripe. The males have long, often curved, horns. Like many other prey species, tommies exhibit a distinctive behaviour of stotting (running and jumping high before fleeing) when they are threatened by predators such as cheetahs, lions, African wild dogs, crocodiles, hyenas, and leopards.

Etymology and their name

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Byzantine-era mosaic of gazelle in Caesarea, Israel

Gazelle is derived from French gazelle, Old French gazel, probably via Old Spanish gacel, probably from North African pronunciation of Arabic: غزال ġazāl,[5][6] Maghrebi pronunciation ġazēl.[7] To Europe it first came to Old Spanish and Old French,[7] and then around 1600 the word entered the English language.[8] The Arab people traditionally hunted the gazelle. Later appreciated for its grace, however, it became a symbol most commonly associated in Arabic literature with human female beauty.[9][10] In many countries in northwestern Sub-Saharan Africa, the gazelle is commonly referred to as "dangelo", meaning "swift deer".[11]


The term “gazelle” is believed to have originated from the Arabic word غزال (ghazāl), meaning deer or antelope, which was adopted into Persian and later European languages like French and English. However, there is a compelling hypothesis that the etymology of “gazelle” may trace further back to Turkic origins.

In Turkic languages, the word göz (meaning “eye”) forms the root of güzel (meaning “beautiful”), emphasizing the connection between beauty and the captivating eyes of certain animals. Animals like jeyran (Caucasian gazelle), maral (red deer), and other deer-like species have long been celebrated in Turkic folklore and traditions for their elegance and beauty. These animals are native to the historical Turkic regions of Central Asia, Anatolia, and the Caucasus, and they play a prominent role in cultural symbolism and oral traditions.

Given the absence of gazelle species in the Arabian Peninsula, it is possible that the term ghazāl in Arabic was adopted from Turkic or Persian languages during cultural exchanges in antiquity. From Arabic, the term later spread to European languages, including French and English.

The symbolic association of gazelles with beauty, grace, and elegance is shared across Turkic, Persian, and Arabic cultures, which further supports the influence of Turkic traditions on the term’s origins.

This alternative etymological path highlights the Turkic cultural and linguistic contributions to the broader lexicon surrounding the gazelle, connecting it to Turkic words like göz, güzel, and the animal names jeyran and maral.

Symbolism or totemism in African families

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The gazelle, like the antelope to which it is related, is the totem of many African families. Some examples include the Joof family of the Senegambia region,[12][13] the Bagananoa of Botswana in Southern Africa (said to be descended from the BaHurutshe),[14] and the Eraraka (or Erarak) clan of Uganda.[15] As is common in many African societies, it is forbidden for the Joof or Eraraka to kill or touch the family totem.[13][15]

Poetry

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One of the traditional themes of Arabic love poetry involves comparing the gazelle with the beloved, and linguists theorize ghazal, the word for love poetry in Arabic, is related to the word for gazelle.[16] It is related that the Caliph Abd al-Malik (646–705) freed a gazelle that he had captured because of her resemblance to his beloved:

O likeness of Layla, never fear!
For I am your friend, today, O wild gazelle!
Then I say, after freeing her from her fetters:
You are free for the sake of Layla, for ever![16]

The theme is found in the ancient Hebrew Song of Songs. (8:14)

Come away, my beloved,
and be like a gazelle
or like a young stag
on the spice-laden mountains.

Species

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For gazelle species by population, see List of even-toed ungulates by population

The gazelles are divided into three genera and numerous species.[17]

Genus Common and binomial names Image Range
Gazella Arabian gazelle
G. arabica 		Arabian Peninsula
Cuvier's gazelle
G. cuvieri 		Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia
Dorcas gazelle
G. dorcas 		North and saharan Africa, Sinai and Southern Israel
Goitered gazelle
G. subgutturosa 		Azerbaijan, eastern Georgia, part of Iran, parts of Iraq and southwestern Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Gobi Desert
Arabian sand gazelle
G. marica 		Syrian Desert, southeastern Turkey, and Arabian Desert
Chinkara or
Indian gazelle
G. bennettii 		Iran, Pakistan and India
Mountain gazelle
G. gazella 		Israel, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, Dubai and Turkey
Rhim gazelle
G. leptoceros 		Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya and Sudan
Speke's gazelle
G. spekei 		Horn of Africa
Erlanger's gazelle
G. erlangeri 		Arabian Peninsula
Eudorcas Mongalla gazelle
E. albonotata 		Floodplain and savanna of South Sudan
Red-fronted gazelle
E. rufifrons 		The Sahel region of central Africa
Red gazelle
E. rufina 		Mountain areas of North Africa
Thomson's gazelle
E. thomsonii 		East Africa
Nanger Dama gazelle
N. dama 		Sahara desert and the Sahel
Grant's gazelle
N. granti 		Northern Tanzania to South Sudan and Ethiopia, and from the Kenyan coast to Lake Victoria
Soemmerring's gazelle
N. soemmerringii 		Horn of Africa

Prehistoric species

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Fossils of genus Gazella are found in Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits of Eurasia and Africa, which occupuied a broader distribution that modern members of the genus. The earliest members of the genus are known from the Middle Miocene of Africa, around 14 million years ago with members of the genus inhabiting Europe from the Late Miocene until their extinction in the region during the Early Pleistocene around 1.8 million years ago.[18]

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References

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  33. ^ Fillion, E.N.; Harrison, T.; Kwekason, A. (June 2022). "A nonanalog Pliocene ungulate community at Laetoli with implications for the paleoecology of Australopithecus afarensis". Journal of Human Evolution. 167: 103182. Bibcode:2022JHumE.16703182F. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103182. PMID 35428490. S2CID 248141011.
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