Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Bovidae

 

Size: up to 90-120 cm in length (head to body)

Weight: - up to 20-25 kg.

 

Key Features: Indian gazelles are characterized by a sandy, yellowish and red colored fur with a pale white ventral region. Facial markings are well developed: they have a dark brown or black forehead and a light face with dark stripes and a noticeable nose spot. Fur color varies seasonally.

 

Breeding: There are two breeding seasons throughout the year, one at the end of the monsoon season from late August through early October, and the second in late spring from March to the end of April. Indian gazelles have a gestation period of 5 to 5.5 months. Females generally give birth to one offspring, but twins have been frequently reported. A majority of births occur in April.

 

Diet: They have been observed in dry deciduous forests, open woodlands, and dry areas such as sand dunes, semi-arid deserts, and arid valleys that have an annual rainfall of 150 to 750 mm. Indian gazelles are facultative drinkers and can withstand relatively long intervals between visits to water points by conserving metabolic water and taking advantage of water found in vegetation.

 

Habitat: Indian gazelles can thrive in a variety of habitats. They have been observed in dry deciduous forests, open woodlands, and dry areas such as sand dunes, semi-arid deserts, and arid valleys that have an annual rainfall of 150 to 750 mm. Indian gazelles are facultative drinkers and can withstand relatively long intervals between visits to water points by conserving metabolic water and taking advantage of water found in vegetation.

 

Habits: a shy animal and avoids human habitation. It can go without water for long periods and can get sufficient fluids from plants and dew. Although most are seen alone, they can sometimes be spotted in groups of up to four animals.

 

Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

 

Distribution in the GoK: reported along the coast of Gulf of Kachchh.

 

 

 

 

 

References:

Gazella bennettii . In Animal Diversity Web, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan. Retrieved on July 15, 2014 from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Gazella_bennettii/

 

IUCN Red List. http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/8978/0

 

Rahmani, A. 1990. Distribution, density, group size and conservation of Indian Gazelle, Gazella bennettii (Sykes 1831) in Rajistan, India. Biological Conservation, 51: 171-189.

 

Bobra, H., S. Goyal, P. Ghosh, I. Prakash. 1992. Studies on ethology and eco physiology of the antelopes of the Indian desert. Annals of Arid Zone, 31(2): 83-96.

 

Photo Courtesy

Shyamal, Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons