THE GAZELLE
(Gazella dorcas)
ALTHOUGH many kinds of gazelles are now known, the gazellepar excellence, that is to say, the ghazal of the Arabs, is the beautiful little species represented in the Plate, which, in order to distinguish it from its relatives, naturalists have designated the dorcas. And no more beautiful and delicately made creature exists in the world than this same gazelle, which has formed the theme of poets—especially in the East—for centuries, as the emblem of beauty, elegance, and fleetness. Many people persist in confusing gazelles with deer, although the two groups have but little in common, being broadly distinguished by the characters of their horns, which in gazelles are hollow, unbranched sheaths of true horn supported on cores of bone, while in deer they are branching structures of bare bone. Indeed, the so-called horns of deer are not really horns at all, at all events from the point of view of the naturalist, but rather antlers; and gazelles constitute a section of that group of ruminants collectively known as antelopes.
Of the approximate size of a roebuck, the true, or dorcas, gazelle, like most of its kindred is coloured to harmonise with the more or less desert conditions of its home. The delicate rufous fawn of the upper-parts accords with the yellow tint of the rocks or sand amid which these beautiful creatures spend most of their time; while, when the animal is standing in the full glare of an Eastern sun, the white of the under surface counteracts the effect of the dark shade thrown by the body, and thus, even at comparatively short distances, makes for more or less complete invisibility. Neither is the white “blaze” on the rump without its special use, as it serves as a guide to the members of a troop to follow the line taken by their leader when safety depends solely upon fleetness of foot; the effect of the danger-signal on such occasions being increased by the elevation of the tail, of which the white under surface is then shown. In the bucks alone do the gracefully curved and heavily ringed black horns attain their full development; those of the does being thin and nearly smooth spikes.
The range of the gazelle is large, including the whole of northern Africa, from Morocco in the west to Egypt in the east, and extending southwards to Nigeria and the Egyptian Sudan; while in Asia it embraces Palestine and Syria. In western and southern Arabia it is, however, replaced by the Arabian gazelle (Gazella arabica), which is itself a relative of the edmi gazelle (G. cuvieri), of Morocco, Algeria, and western Tunisia; the last-named being a mountain-dweller, whereas the dorcas is largely a native of the plains.
roebuck
In the deserts and plains between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the dorcas gazelle is especially numerous, its food chiefly consists of mimosa-bushes; these bushes growing most abundantly on low, boulder-strewn hills which form the favourite feeding-places of the gazelles. Unlike many ruminants, gazelles are almost constantly on the move, resting only during the very hottest hours of the day, when they seek the shade of the mimosas: and when thus reposing, even experienced hunters find it extremely difficult to distinguish them from the boulders amid which they lie.
Gazelles mostly associate in herds of variable size; but they are generally seen on their feeding-grounds either in small parties of from two to eight head, or singly. They are extremely shy and watchful, and nearly always feed with the wind behind them; while their favourite stations are on elevated ground, where they can command an extensive view of the plains below. When a herd is alarmed and takes to flight, its members always seek shelter on the nearest hill.
The senses of sight, smell, and hearing are all highly developed in gazelles; and the speed of these beautiful antelopes is little short of marvellous. Indeed, when a gazelle is fleeing from the slughi hounds, or so-called Persian greyhounds, with which the Arabs hunt the fawns, they seem scarcely to touch the ground, and to be flying rather than running.
Previous to the pairing-season the bucks fight among themselves, and so fiercely that they not infrequently lose a horn. After a gestation of between five and six months, the doe gives birth to a single fawn, which is at first extremely helpless, when it is most assiduously nursed by the mother. Young gazelles are beautiful little creatures, which in their own country can be kept and tamed without difficulty; in cold climates they require, however, shelter and protection in cold and bad weather.
Pictures of the gazelle are common among the ancient Egyptian frescoes, especially in the temples at Giza, Thebes, Sakhara, and Beni-hassan; and from a painting in a tomb at Sakhara it may be inferred that herds of these graceful ruminants were kept in a half-tamed condition in Pharaonic times.