Gazelle

Gazelle, any antelope of the genus Gazella, with seventeen species, ranging from North Africa eastwards to India, and having one representative in South Africa. They are small, lithe, and very active; the horns, which are smaller in the female, are black, strong, and lyrate; the fur is short and close-pressed, and there is usually a tuft of hair at the knee. The true gazelle ( Gazella dorcas) ranges from North Africa into Persia, where also the larger form ( 67. subgulturosa) is found. It stands a little less than two feet high, and the body hair is rather coarse and of a pale fawn colour above, while the under surface is white. This species is often kept as a pet in the East, and references to it and to the beauty of its eyes are common in poetry. Authorities differ as to their habits: it is usually said that they live in large troops, and tales are told of the males forming a circle, with the does and fawns in the middle, and presenting a serried mass of horns to attacking lions or leopards. Blanford says that the true gazelle and Bennett's, or the Indian gazelle (67. bennetti) are generally met with singly, or in groups of from two to five, which, if correct, disposes of the circle story. Other species are the Arabian or Ariel gazelle (G. ariel), the Abyssinian (67. scemmeringi), the Korin (67. rufifrons), Grant's, or the East African gazelle (67. granti), and Speke's gazelle (67. spekii).