Speke's Gazelle
scientific name
gazelli spekei
size/weight/height
Height:
at shoulder 1.6-2 ft.
Length: 3.1-3.5 ft.
Weight: 33-55 lbs.
adaptations/coloration
Light grayish
brown with a black flank stripe and a paler band above it • white
buttocks with dark margins • pale face • horns with broad
annulations: males 10-12.4” curving backwards in an “S”;
females 6-10” straighter, steeper and thinner than male •
Three to five folds of skin in nasal region, inflatable to the size
of half a tennis ball, inflated to make an alarm call which sounds like
a pistol shot.
behavior
Crepuscular
• Gather in family groups up to 20, number depends on amount of
vegetation available • Muscular spasms dispense scent from preorbital
glands (inner corner of eye where tear duct is on human)
reproduction/lifespan
Gestation:
6-7 months • single young • average birth weight 2.75 lbs.
• wean after 2-3 months • Sexual maturity: female 9 months,
males 18 months • Lifespan: 12 years
diet
Wild: Grass,
herbs, shrubs and succulents • Zoo:
herbivore pellets, grains, hay
habitat/range
Horn of
Africa, on the Indian Ocean side of Somalia • Former range included
eastern Ethiopia • Stony brush, grass steppes, semidesert.
status
IUCN classification:
vulnerable • Not listed in CITES
other
Main predators:
cheetah, lion, wild dog, leopard, hyena, python • Long-hunted for
use as food • Habitat modifications have adversely affected populations.
oregon zoo exhibit
Africa Savanna
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