Przewalski's Gazelle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Przewalski's Gazelle | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Procapra przewalskii Büchner, 1891 |
Przewalski's Gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) is a member of the Bovidae family and, in the wild, is found only in China. Once widespread, its range has declined to six populations near Qinghai Lake.[1] The Przewalski's Gazelle was named after Nikolai Przhevalsky, a Russian adventurer who collected a specimen and brought it back to St. Petersburg in 1875.[2]
The animal is yellowish brown with white spots on its rump, with a body length of 100 cm, tail of 7–10 cm and a weight of around 21–32 kg. Males are the only ones that bear antlers, which bend inwards at the tips. It inhabitats flat areas and basins between mountains and the semi-desert zones around lakes.
The preferred diet is sedge, grass, and other plants. The gazelle usually travels in groups of around 10 or so and larger ones in the winter, when estrum occurs. Offspring are born from May to June with one young per birth.
Threats against the Przewalski Gazelle are many. While now protected by Chinese law, and illegal hunting no longer is considered an important factor, a large percentage of the habitat of this species has already been lost due to human activities.[1] Consequently, it is considered to be an endangered species by the IUCN. Formerly, it was believed that as few as 250 remained, and it was considered critically endangered. However, this is now believed to be an underestimate (among other due to two sub-populations only discovered in 2003), and there are now believed to be 350-400 (or possibly even more) mature individuals left.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2008). Procapra przewalskii. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 10 December 2008. Database entry includes justification for why this species is Endangered.
- ^ Three new groups of critically endangered endemic gazelle found. Xinhua. Accessed 2008-12-10.
- Przewalskis Gazelle. ChinaCulture.org. Accessed 2008-12-10.
