Antelopes and gazelles

As seen from the following frames, this is not just a few animals, but more than 150 different
species, and then you have all the sub-species. It has not been easy to decide how to display
all those. As you see in the frame Family Bovidae, the antelopes and gazellas has been split
into 10 subfamilies, and those underlined have links to their own separate pages.

The Subfamily Antilopinae, the true antelopes are displayed on this page, and on the page
with Gazellas. These two pages may change when we see how it is best to split the animals.
This depends on what we can find of information and pictures..

Family Bovidae

Subfamily Bovinae: cattle, buffaloes and spiral-horned antelopes, 27 species in 10 genera                      Kudu, Eland, Nyala and Bongo. Subfamily Cephalophinae: duikers, 21 species in 2 genera Subfamily Hippotraginae: grazing antelopes, 7 species in 3 genera Oryx,Sable, Gaisa Subfamily Antilopinae: gazelles, dwarf antelopes and the saiga, 34 species in 13 genera Subfamily Caprinae: goat-antelopes: sheep, goats, muskox, takin etc., 33 species in 10 genera Subfamily Reduncinae: reedbucks, lechwe, 9 species in 2 genera Subfamily Aepycerotinae: impala, 1 species in 1 genus Subfamily Peleinae: rhebok, 1 species in 1 genus Subfamily Pantholopinae: Tibetan antelope, 1 species in 1 genus Subfamily Alcelaphinae: wildebeest, topi/tsessebe, 10 species in 4 genera

Subfamily Alcelaphinae The subfamily Alcelaphinae, from the family Bovidae, contains Wildebeest, Hartebeest, Bonteboks and several similar species. All in all it contains 10 species in 4 genera, although Beatragus is sometimes considered a subgenus of Damaliscus, and Sigmoceros for the Lichtenstein's Hartebeest. Genus Beatragus, Hirola Genus Damaliscus, Topi, bonteboks Genus Alcelaphus, Hartebeest Genus Connochaetes,  Wildebeest

Subfamily Antilopinae (Antelopes) The gazelles, blackbucks, springboks, gerenuks, dibatags and Central Asian gazelles are often referred to as "True Antelopes" and are usually the sole representatives of the Antilopinae. "True Antelopes" occur in much of Africa and Asia with the highest concentration of species occurring in East Africa in Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania. The saigas and Tibetan antelopes are related to "True Antelopes" (Antilopinae) and goats (Caprinae), but often placed in their own subfamily, Saiginae. These animals inhabit much of Central and Western Asia. The dwarf antelopes are sometimes placed in a separate subfamily, Neotraginae, and live entirely in Sub-Saharan Africa. Tribe Antilopini Genus Ammodorcas Dibatag Ammodorcas clarkei Genus Antidorcas Springbok Antidorcas marsupialis Genus Antilope Blackbuck Antilope cervicapra Genus Eudorcas Mongalla Gazelle Eudorcas albonotata Red Gazelle Eudorcas rufina † Red-fronted Gazelle Eudorcas rufrifrons    Eastern Chad red-fronted gazelle, Gazella rufifrons centralis    North Nigeria Red-fronted gazelle, Gazella rufifrons hasleri    Kanuri Red-fronted Gazelle, Gazella rufifrons kanuri    Nubian Red-fronted gazelle, Gazella rufifrons laevipes    Senegal Red-fronted gazelle, Gazella rufifrons rufifrons Thomson's Gazelle, Eudorcas thomsoni, Gazella thomsoni Heuglin's Gazelle Eudorcas tilonura Genus Gazella Arabian Gazelle Gazella arabica † Chinkara or Indian Gazelle Gazella benettii Queen of Sheba's Gazelle Gazella bilkis † Dorcas Gazelle Gazella dorcas Mountain Gazelle Gazella gazella Saudi Gazelle Gazella saudiya † Speke's Gazelle Gazella spekei Genus Trachelocele Cuvier's Gazelle Gazella cuvieri Rhim Gazelle or Slender-horned Gazelle Gazella leptoceros Goitered Gazelle Gazella subgutturosa Genus Litocranius Gerenuk Litocranius walleri    Southern Gerenuk Litocranius walleri walleri    Northern Gerenuk Litocranius walleri sclateri Genus Nanger Dama Gazelle Nanger dama Grant's Gazelle Nanger granti    Bright's Gazelle, Nanger granti brighti    Southern Grant's Gazelle, Nanger granti granti    Northern Grant's Gazelle, Nanger granti lacuum    Peter's Gazelle, Nanger granti petersi    Robert's Gazelle, Nanger granti robertsi Soemmerring's Gazelle Nanger soemmerringii Genus Procapra Zeren Procapra gutturosa Goa Procapra picticaudata Przewalski's Gazelle Procapra przewalskii . Tribe Saigini Genus Pantholops (Sometimes classified in Caprinae) Tibetan Antelope Pantholops hodgsonii Genus Saiga Saiga Saiga tatarica (Asia) Tribe Neotragini Genus Dorcatragus Beira Dorcatragus megalotis Genus Madoqua Günther's Dik-dik Madoqua guntheri Kirk's Dik-dik Madoqua kirkii Silver Dik-dik Madoqua piacentinii Salt's Dik-dik Madoqua saltiana Genus Neotragus Bates's Pygmy Antelope Neotragus batesi Suni Neotragus moschatus Royal Antelope Neotragus pygmaeus Genus Oreotragus Klipspringer Oreotragus oreotragus Genus Ourebia Oribi, Ourebia Ourebi Ourebia ourebi aequatoria (Uganda) Ourebia ourebi cottoni (Tanzania) Ourebia ourebi dorcas (Chad) Ourebia ourebi gallarum (Central Ethiopia) Ourebia ourebi goslingi (North Zaire) Ourebia ourebi haggardi (Northern Kenya) Ourebia ourebi hastata (Zaire, Malawi, Zimbabwe) Ourebia ourebi kenyae (Kenya) Ourebia ourebi montana (Sudan to west Ethiopia) Ourebia ourebi ourebi (South Africa) Ourebia ourebi quadriscopa (Senegal to Nigeria) Ourebia ourebi rutila (Angola) Ourebia ourebi ugandae (Uganda) Genus Raphicerus Steenbok Raphicerus campestris (compestris) Cape Grysbok Raphicerus melanotis Sharpe's Grysbok Raphicerus sharpei Oribi (Ourebia ourebi, known as Oorbietjie in Afrikaans) are graceful slender-legged, long-necked small antelope found in grassland almost throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Two of these subspecies are listed on the IUCN Red List: Haggard's oribi (Ourebia ourebi haggardi) is classified as Vulnerable (Vu C1) and the Kenya Oribi (Ourebia ourebi kenyae) is classified as Extinct (EX). http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/antelope_report.pdf

Dibatag Ammodorcas clarkei

Dibitag, Ammodorcas clarkei
Photographer: unknown. Source: http://www.apus.ru/

Dibatag has disappeared from substantial parts of its former range, e.g., northern Ogaden where human and livestock numbers are now high and it is under heavy pressure in Somalia. The overall decline in range andnumbers due to hunting and habitat degradation is estimated to have exceeded 30% over three generations (21 years, 1985 to 2006). However, numbers are currently cautiously estimated to exceed the threshold of 2,500 mature individuals that would be necessary to qualify for a listing as EN under criterion C (Wilhelmi et al. 2006) but may be close to meeting this. In Ethiopia, dibatag formerly occurred widely in the vast plains of the Ogaden region in the eastern lowlands. The Ogaden is a plateau, with an elevation above sea level that ranges from 1,500 meters in the northwest, falling to about 300 meters along the southern limits and the Wabi Shebelle valley.

Shaded relief map of Ethiopia, cropped and centered on the Ogaden area
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogaden

An extensive ground survey revealed that the dibatag is now rare or absent in the northern Ogaden but
still occurs locally within a reasonably large area in the southern Ogaden, where it appears to be quite
common in some localities (Wilhelmi 1997). In contrast to the northern Ogaden, which has a relatively
high density of settlements and concentrations of armed pastoralists and their herds, the southern Ogaden has lower human densities and extensive areas where the natural flora and fauna appear to be
largely intact.

Dibatag inhabit semi-arid, dense to scattered bush, low- to medium-height thornbush savanna and plains
with thicket/grassland mosaics. They prefer sandy to moderately gravelled, ferrous oxide rich red soils,
characterized by numerous termite mounds (Wilhelmi, in press). Their altitudinal range is approximately
200 to 1,200 m (Yalden et al. 1986).
Above information collected from: Heckel, J.-O., Wilhelmi, F., Kaariye, X.Y. & Amir, O.G. 2008. Ammodorcas clarkei.
In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 January 2012.


Blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra

A blackbuck in central India Location: Mahavir Harini Vanasthali National Park, Hyderabad, 2009 Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Buck.jpg

The Blackbuck is included here as it belongs to the same genus as the african antelopes. The blackbuck, Antilope cervicapra, is an antelope species native to the Indian subcontinent that has been classified
as near threatened by IUCN since 2003, as the blackbuck range has decreased sharply during the 20th century.

The blackbuck is the only living species of the genus Antilope. Its generic name 'Antilope' stems from
the Latin word antalopus, a horned animal.

Males and females have distinctive coloration. Male blackbucks are black and white and have long
twisted horns, while females are fawn coloured with no horns.
Body Length: 100–150 cm (3.3–4.9 ft), Shoulder Height: 60–85 cm (2.0–2.79 ft)
Tail Length: 10–17 cm (3.9–6.7 in), Weight: 25–35 kg (55–77 lb)[6]

The horns of the blackbuck are ringed with 1 to 4 spiral turns, rarely more than 4 turns, and can be as
long as 79 cm (31 in). A trophy blackbuck is greater than 46 cm (18 in). In the male, the upper body is
black (dark brown), and the belly and eye rings are white. The light-brown female is usually hornless.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackbuck


Mongalla Gazelle, Eudorcas albonotata<
no picture found
It was formerly treated as a subspecies of the well-known Thomson's Gazelle.
Mongalla Gazelles inhabit the flood plains and flat savanna grasslands in southeast Sudan, east of the
Nile, but not reaching the Ugandan and Kenyan borders. They have been recorded from the Omo region
in south-west Ethiopia, but there is no recent information on its occurrence in this country

East (1999) guessed that the total population of Mongola Gazelle could number 100,000, but numbers
are known to fluctuate substantially in this area and the central parts of its range are particularly
inaccessible. An aerial survey carried out by WCS in 2007 produced a population estimate for part of
South Sudan of 278,000 (Fay et al. 2007).

The Mongalla gazelle inhabits floodplain and savanna grasslands in Sudan (East 1999). This gazelle is
adapted to following a nomadic annual cycle over the eastern Sudd floodplains, an ecologically peculiar region where extensive floods are followed by extreme aridity (Hashim in press). During the wet season, the Mongalla Gazelle aggregates in high population densities with other migratory species such as
White-eared Kob and Tiang (Hillman and Fryxell 1988).
Source: IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2008. Eudorcas albonotata. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 28 January 2012.




Red-fronted Gazelle Eudorcas rufrifrons

The Red-fronted gazelle, Eudorcas rufifrons, is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed
across the middle Africa from Senegal to north-eastern Ethiopia. It is mainly resident in the Sahel zone,
a narrow cross-Africa band south of the Sahara, where it prefers arid grasslands, wooded savannas and shrubby steppes.

Some authorities (e.g. Kingdon 1997) consider that Thomson's gazelle, Eudorcas thomsoni, of East Africa,
is a subspecies of Red-fronted gazelle. The red-fronted gazelle was formerly considered a member of the
genus Gazella within the subgenus Eudorcas before Eudorcas was elevated to genus status.


Klipspringer, Oreotragus oreotragus

Klipspringer, Oreotragus oreotragus © http://www.schmode.net/klipspring002.htm (not active as per Sept.2010)

Cuvier's Gazelle, Gazella cuvieri

A Cuvier's Gazelle at the San Diego Zoo in San Diego, California Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cuvier%27s_Gazelle.jpg

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 wild with only 2000 individuals


Gerenuk, Litocranius walleri

Gerenuk, Litocranius walleri Photographer: William M. Ciesla, http://www.forestryimages.org/

The Gerenuk, Litocranius walleri, also known as the Waller's Gazelle, is a long-necked species of antelope
found in dry bushy scrub and steppe in East Africa, from Somalia and eastern Ethiopia through northern and
eastern Kenya to northeastern Tanzania. The word Gerenuk (pronounced with a hard g) comes from the Somali
language, meaning “giraffe-necked.” Gerenuk are sometimes also called the Giraffe-necked Antelope.
It is the only member of the genus Litocranius.

Adult male gerenuk, Litocranius walleri walleri, August 2001 © Copyright Brent Huffman, 2001 www.ultimateungulate.com

Gerenuks have a small head for their body, but their eyes and ears are big. Unlike females, males have horns and
a more muscular neck. They are brown on their back, and lighter underneath. They have short, black tails.
From head to tail, the gerenuk is around 150 cm long. Males are a little taller than females, ranging from 89-105 cm,
and the females are 80-100 cm. The male is also heavier than the female, weighing at 45 kg, and females are 30 kg.

Gerenuks, Litocranius walleri, in the Samburu National Park - Kenya Source: Gerenuks (Litocranius walleri) in the Samburu National Park - Kenya

Gerenuks eat food from higher places than most other gazelles and antelopes. They do this by standing up on their
hind legs, and stretching out their long necks to get food off of tall bushes or small trees. Most of their diet is made
up of leaves and shoots of shrubs and trees, but also includes buds, flowers, fruit, and herbaceous plants .
Gerenuks do not appear to drink water; they get enough water from the plants they eat. Because of this,
they can survive in very dry habitats.




Dama Gazelle Nanger dama

Dama Gazelle Nanger dama

The Dama Gazelle, Nanger dama, is following the same trail into extinction in the wild as the Scimitar-horned Oryx, Oryx dammah, Status justification: The sustained decline due to uncontrolled hunting and habitat loss has continued and is now estimated to have exceeded 80% over 10 years. Extensive field surveys have been made since 2001, but all subpopulations encountered are very small, with all at risk from unmanaged large-scale hunting, and the total population certainly numbers well less than 500 individuals. Decline is expected to continue based on ongoing hunting and unpredictable arrival of large hunting parties with high destructive potential from the Gulf states. Dama Gazelle are present in captivity, but the number of founders is limited. Animals from Almeria breeding facility in Spain were introduced to an enclosure (R’mila Royal Reserve) in Morocco (130 present in 2007) and gazelles from München Zoo (originally bred at Almeria) were released into an enclosure in Souss-Massa N.P. (12 animals in 2006); these semi-captives are intended to form part of a reintroduction programme in Morocco. All of the animals from Almeria stock originate from Western Sahara. Elsewhere, Dama Gazelle were released into the 2,000-ha Bou-Hedma N.P. in Tunisia in the early 1990s where around 17 were present in 2006; gazelles have also been reintroduced to Guembeul Faunal Reserve in Senegal and a reintroduction programme in Ferlo North Reserve is underway (7 animals). Source: UICN Press Release - 06 February 2009 - One fourth of antelope species are threatened with extinction in the world

Saiga, Saiga tatarica

Saiga, Saiga tatarica

Saiga, Saiga tatarica, is the most highly threatened antelope in Asia The population has shown an observed decline of over 80% over the last 10 years and the decline is continuing. Severely skewed sex ratios are leading to reproductive collapse. Some protected areas exist within Saiga range but distance between summer/winter ranges of the various populations hinders full protected area coverage. Extension of already existing and new protected areas is under discussion by the Russian Federation government. Some research is being carried out on numbers, range and behaviour. Total prohibition of saiga meat and horn trade as well as temporary removal of saiga from the hunting animals list have been proposed as key conservation measures. The Mongolian Saiga, Saiga tatarica mongolica, has been legally protected since 1930. Two protected areas, Sharga NR (286,900 ha) and Mankhan NR (30,000 ha), were designated in 1993 to protect most of the remaining areas of occurrence. Source: UICN Press Release - 06 February 2009 - One fourth of antelope species are threatened with extinction in the world

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Endangered antelopes Bovidae Cephalophinae Cephalophus Cephalophus jentinki, Jentink's duiker Endangered C1 Decreasing Bovidae Cephalophinae Cephalophus Cephalophus spadix, Abbott's duiker Endangered C2a(i) Decreasing Bovidae Antilopinae Gazella Gazella cuvieri, Cuvier's gazelle Endangered C2a(i) Unknown Bovidae Antilopinae Gazella Gazella leptoceros, Slender-horned gazelle Endangered C2a(i) Decreasing Bovidae Antilopinae Gazella Gazella spekei, Speke's gazelle Endangered A2cd Decreasing Bovidae Reduncinae Kobus Kobus megaceros, Nile lechwe Endangered A2a Decreasing Bovidae Hippotraginae Oryx Oryx leucoryx, Arabian oryx Endangered D Decreasing Bovidae Caprinae Pantholops Pantholops hodgsonii, Chiru/Tibetan antelope* Endangered A2d Decreasing Bovidae Antilopinae Procapra Procapra przewalskii, Przewalski's gazelle Endangered C2a(i) Decreasing Bovidae Bovinae Tragelaphus Tragelaphus buxtoni, Mountain nyala Endangered C1 Decreasing Source: UICN Press Release - 06 February 2009 - One fourth of antelope species are threatened with extinction in the world

The images used herein, except where otherwise stated, were obtained from IMSI's MasterClips(MasterPhotos(C) Collection, 1895 Francisco Blvd.East, San Rafael, CA 94901-5506, USA