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Gazella dorcas
Gacela dorcas (Sp), Dorkasgazelle (G), Gazelle dorcas (F). Local names are afri, or ghazal. "Dorcas" is from the Greek dorkas (gazelle).
DESCRIPTION Shoulder height 21-25 inches (53-64 cm). Weight 30-50 pounds (14-23 kg).
The dorcas gazelle is a small, elegant gazelle without much color contrast. The general color is a pale sandy fawn, with white underparts and rump, a flank band that is wide and somewhat darker than the back, and indistinct pygal (rump) stripes. The upper surface of the tail is black for half its length, and there are reddish brown tufts on the knees. The face has a reddish brown median blaze and brownish stripes from eye to mouth, which are separated by a whitish stripe from base of horn to muzzle. A dark nose spot is usually present. The horns (both sexes) are medium-sized, somewhat compressed at the base, strongly ringed, evenly divergent, and often lyrate. Females are similar to males, but have smaller, straighter horns.
DISTRIBUTION Private ranches in Texas.
REMARKS Native to The Sahara Desert region from Morocco and Senegal in the west to the Red Sea and Somalia in the east. Outside Africa, it is found in the Sinai and Arabian peninsulas, and northward to Syria and Iraq.
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