Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelle

Phylum : Chordata
Class : Mammalia
Order : Artiodactyla
Family : Bovidae
Genus : Nanger
Species : N. dama

Height : 40in (1m)
Weight : Up to 180lbs (81kg)

IUCN Status : Critically Endangered

The Dama Gazelle is both the world's largest, and the world's rarest gazelle. They once had a range that spread across all of northern Africa, but now they are restricted to only a few isolated pockets in Niger, Mali, and Chad.

Dama Gazelle

Dama Gazelles live either solitary lifestyles, or in very small groups that number up to around 15 individuals. They feed off of scrubs and acacia trees, and are able to stand on their hind legs in order to feed off higher leaves. They are can get most of their water needs right from the food they eat.

A number of factors have contributed to the population decline of the Dama Gazelle. They are illegally hunted, they have lost their habitat, they have been horribly affected by drought, and they are forced to compete for food with grazing livestock. There are only a few hundred left in the wild, though recently some have also been released into enclosures and reserves in Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal.