(_Gazella dorcas_)
Although many kinds of gazelles are now known, the gazelle _par
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.
[Illustration]
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.