[Illustration: GAZELLES.]
The Gazelles are animals of graceful shape, rather smaller in size than
the Chamois. The horns are twice bent, in the shape of a lyre, and
without sharp edges; the nostrils are generally surrounded by hair.
The eyes of this animal are so beautiful and so soft in expression, its
movements are so elegant and so light, that the Gazelle is used by the
Arab poets as the type of all that is lovely and graceful.
Gazelles proper are the species of this genus which are generally to be
seen in our parks and menageries. Such, for instance, as the Dorcas
Gazelle, which inhabits the large plains and Saharian region of Northern
Africa. It is the same size as a Roe, but its shape is lighter and more
graceful.