| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | MAMMALIA | CETARTIODACTYLA | BOVIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Gazella subgutturosa | |||||||||
| Species Authority | (Güldenstädt, 1780) | |||||||||
Common Name/s:
|
||||||||||
| Red List Category & Criteria: | Vulnerable A2ad ver 3.1 | |||||||||
| Year Assessed: | 2008 | |||||||||
| Assessor/s | Mallon, D.P. | |||||||||
| Evaluator/s: | Mallon, D.P. & Plowman, A. (Antelope Red List Authority) | |||||||||
|
Justification: Numbers were estimated at 120,000–140,000 in Mallon and Kingswood (2001) and the taxon has a very wide distribution across the Middle East and Asia. However, populations throughout the range are subject to illegal hunting and habitat loss. Declines are widely reported and continuing. The population in Turkmenistan has almost disappeared in recent years. The largest population in Kazakhstan, formerly numbering c. 20,000, has also drastically declined in the last few years. In Mongolia, a substantial proportion of the known global population remained until recently, but heavy poaching has wiped out almost all the large herds and cut the numbers by well over 50%. Overall the rate of decline is now estimated to have exceeded the figure of 30% over 10 years that qualifies for Vulnerable under criterion A2. |
||||||||||
| History: |
|
|||||||||
| Range Description: |
Occurs from the south of the Arabian Peninsula across the Middle East and Asia to Mongolia, China and Pakistan. Their historical range has contracted greatly, and they are now extinct in Kuwait, Georgia, and perhaps Kyrgyzstan (Mallon and Kingswood 2001). The historical range of Arabian Sand Gazelle (the only subspecies assessed here) covered the Arabian Peninsula north to southern Iraq and Kuwait. The taxon is currently found in Bahrain (Hawar Island and southern part of Bahrain Island); Oman (Dhofar, edge of Rub al Khali to Arabian Oryx Sanctuary); United Arab Emirates (Umm al Zummur area); Saudi Arabia (four populations, all in protected areas); Jordan (north-east); Syria, Iraq and Yemen. It is now extinct in Kuwait (Mallon and Kingswood 2001). |
| Countries: |
Native:
Afghanistan; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; China; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Mongolia; Oman; Pakistan; Saudi Arabia; Syrian Arab Republic; Tajikistan; Turkey; Turkmenistan; United Arab Emirates; Uzbekistan; Yemen
Regionally extinct:
Armenia; Georgia; Kuwait
|
| Range Map: |
(click map to view full version)
|
| Population: |
Numbers were estimated at 120,000-140,000 in Mallon and Kingswood (2001), but populations throughout the range have decreased since then and are subject to continuing illegal hunting and habitat loss. The former population in Turkmenistan has virtually disappeared. A large former population (c. 15,000) in Kazakhstan has also drastically declined in recent years. Small numbers occur in south-east Turkey (Ceylan Pinar, ca. 200 individuals in an enclosure; M. Masseti pers. comm. 2007), and c. 4,000 in Azerbaijan. In Iran, numbers were estimated at a little over 4,000 in 2001, virtually all in protected areas. In some of these poaching is still a factor and numbers are still declining. Drastically reduced in Pakistan, and may be on the verge of extinction there. Mongolia is thought to contain the largest remaining population of the species (estimated at 60,000 in the early 1990s; Amgalan 1995), so holding an estimated 40-50% of the global population (Lkhagvasuren et al. 2001). However, this population has been heavily reduced by poaching in the last 2-3 years and this decline is continuing. The total population of Arabian Sand Gazelle is estimated to be less than 10,000 and certainly less than 10,000 mature individuals, with country population estimates as follows: Saudi Arabia (2,650-3,050 in four populations); United Arab Emirates (up to 1,000); Oman (no information on population size); Bahrain (350-400 on Hawar; 450-500 on Bahrain Island); Yemen (no information); Syria (approximately 100 seen in southern Syria in 1998 (Habibi 1998)); Jordan (rare); Iraq (up to 1,000 were reported by Al-Robaae and Kingswood (2001)). |
| Population Trend: |
Decreasing
|
| Habitat and Ecology: | Inhabits a wide range of semi-desert and desert habitats. Ascends into foothills and penetrates mountain valleys in Central Asia, to altitudes of 2,700 m in Mongolia (Bannikov 1954). They migrate seasonally in search of pasture and water. Arabian Sand Gazelle prefers areas of dunes and sandy desert in the Arabian Peninsula. |
| Systems: | Terrestrial |
| Major Threat(s): | The main threats are illegal hunting (for meat and to a lesser extent for trophies) and habitat loss (due to economic development, conversion to agriculture, increasing numbers of domestic livestock). In Central Asia the species is susceptible to the effects of severe winter weather. In Arabian Peninsula some are live-caught for private collections. |
| Conservation Actions: |
Legally protected in most range states, although enforcement is not universally effective. The species occurs in many protected areas across its range. The species has been reintroduced to various parts of its former range (e.g., Al Talila, 30 km south of Palmyra in Syria; Masseti 2004), and reintroduction of the nominate form is under consideration in Georgia. The Arabian Sand Gazelle occurs in several protected areas, including: Al-Khunfah, Harrat al-Harrah, Mahazat as-Sayd, Uruq Bani Ma’arid (Saudi Arabia); Arabian Oryx Sanctuary (Oman); and South Bahrain Island (Bahrain); although not formally designated as a PA, access to Hawar Island is restricted. |
| Citation: | Mallon, D.P. 2008. Gazella subgutturosa. In: IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 23 November 2008. |
| Disclaimer: | To make use of this information, please check the Copyright and Data Disclaimer. |
| Feedback: | If you see any errors or have any questions or suggestions on what is shown on this page, please fill in the feedback form so that we can correct or extend the information provided |
