Gazelle

The gazelle is a small, slender antelope that lives in the grasslands and deserts of Africa and parts of Asia. There are about 19 different species of gazelle. Most stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder. They weigh 30 to 75 pounds, depending on the species. Both males and females usually have curved horns, though the males' horns are bigger.

Gazelles are built for speed. Their long, thin legs and light bodies let them run fast for a long time. A Thomson's gazelle can sprint at 50 miles per hour, about as fast as a car on the highway. They can also leap up to ten feet in the air and change direction in a single bound. This is how they survive in a world full of hungry predators.

Those predators include cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyenas, and wild dogs. The cheetah is faster than a gazelle in a short sprint, but the gazelle can run longer without getting tired. A gazelle's best defense is zig-zagging. By cutting sharp turns at full speed, it can often throw off a chasing cat.

Gazelles eat grasses, leaves, and shoots. They live in herds that can range from a few animals to several hundred. Living in a group means more eyes watching for danger. Gazelles that live in hot, dry places, like the dorcas gazelle of the Sahara, almost never need to drink. They get most of their water straight from the plants they eat.

Gazelles have been part of human stories for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians kept gazelles and sometimes buried them in tombs. In Arabic poetry, the word for gazelle, ghazal, was used to describe a beautiful loved one, and it gave its name to a famous style of love poem. The English word "gazelle" comes from this Arabic word.

Today, many gazelle species are in trouble. Hunting and the loss of grasslands to farms and cities have pushed several kinds toward extinction. The dama gazelle, once common across the Sahara, now has fewer than 300 animals left in the wild. Scientists say that is fewer than the number of students in many elementary schools. Other gazelles, like Thomson's gazelle, are still doing well and can be seen in huge numbers on the Serengeti plains. Watch a herd running across open grass, and you are seeing one of the fastest, most graceful animals on Earth.