The Mongolian gazelle (''Procapra gutturosa''), or dzeren (russian: Дзерэн), is a medium-sized

antelope The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...

native to the semiarid Central Asian

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

s of Mongolia, as well as some parts of Siberia and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The name ''dzeren'' is Russian misinterpretation of the Mongolian language name of ''zeer'' ( mn, Зээр) or Buryat zeeren ( Buryat: Зээрэн).

Description

In the summer, its coat is light brown with pinkish tones, becoming longer and paler during the winter. It also has a distinctive heart-shaped white patch on its rump area, divided by a median line of darker color. The male has

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a yoke ...

-shaped horns which curl backwards from the forehead. It is an extremely fast runner and good swimmer. Procapra gutturosa map

In the winter, they are mostly diurnal, but in the summer, they are active shortly after sunrise and before sunset. They tend to travel a lot, and migrations takes place in spring and autumn, but the distance and direction vary depending on the weather and food availability.

Behaviour

The groups usually consists of 20-30 individuals in the summer, and 100 in the winter. However, herds up to 5,000 individuals are not unusual. They still exist in large numbers, with a small captive population; the population trend is unknown. In 2007, a mega-herd of a quarter of a million Mongolian gazelles was seen gathering on the country's steppes, one of the world's last great wildernesses.BBC: Largest herd of gazelles sighted
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Breeding

The mating season is in the late autumn or winter; at this time, the males' throats swell in a goiter-like effect. Competition is vigorous, but fights rarely break out. The gestation period lasts for about 5-6 months. Births occur is June and July, when groups of dozens of females separate from the herd to give birth, rejoining the herd afterward. They usually give birth to a single young and occasionally twins. They weigh about 3 kg and can keep up with their mother after a few days. They will be able to mate after 17-18 months.

Conservation

The Mongolian gazelle is still one of the most numerous large animals in the world, with the total population around 1.5 million individuals, but roughly 100,000 are killed each year. However, the conservation status is at least concern. Whether the population is increasing or decreasing is unknown, but the population is known to be subject to significant fluctuations due to diseases and severe winters.

References

External links

Ultimateungulate.com
{{Taxonbar, from=Q756186 Mongolian gazelle Mammals of Mongolia Mongolian gazelle