Speke's Gazelle

Speke's Gazelle

scientific name

gazelli spekei

size/weight/height

Height: at shoulder 1.6-2 ft.
Length: 3.1-3.5 ft.
Weight: 33-55 lbs.

adaptations/coloration

Light grayish brown with a black flank stripe and a paler band above it • white buttocks with dark margins • pale face • horns with broad annulations: males 10-12.4” curving backwards in an “S”; females 6-10” straighter, steeper and thinner than male • Three to five folds of skin in nasal region, inflatable to the size of half a tennis ball, inflated to make an alarm call which sounds like a pistol shot.

behavior

Crepuscular • Gather in family groups up to 20, number depends on amount of vegetation available • Muscular spasms dispense scent from preorbital glands (inner corner of eye where tear duct is on human)

reproduction/lifespan

Gestation: 6-7 months • single young • average birth weight 2.75 lbs. • wean after 2-3 months • Sexual maturity: female 9 months, males 18 months • Lifespan: 12 years

diet

Wild: Grass, herbs, shrubs and succulents • Zoo: herbivore pellets, grains, hay

habitat/range

Horn of Africa, on the Indian Ocean side of Somalia • Former range included eastern Ethiopia • Stony brush, grass steppes, semidesert.

status

IUCN classification: vulnerable • Not listed in CITES

other

Main predators: cheetah, lion, wild dog, leopard, hyena, python • Long-hunted for use as food • Habitat modifications have adversely affected populations.