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Classification
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Eudorcas
rufifrons
Red-fronted gazelle, Heuglin's gazelle
Taxonomy
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photographs
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General Characteristics
Body Length: 105-120 cm / 3.5-4 ft.
Shoulder Height: 65-92 cm /
Tail Length: 15-25 cm / 6-10 in.
Weight: 20-35 kg / 44-77 lb.The short upper coat is a uniform tan colour. A thin dark brown flank stripe runs along the side between the legs, demarcating the edge of the white undersides. As the name suggests, this gazelle has a strikingly red forehead with faint red and cream-coloured lines running from the eyes to the nose. There is an indistinct white eye-ring. The tail has a black tuft, which contrasts sharply with the white buttocks. The legs are extremely slender, rufous on their outer side and white on the inside. The thick, almost parallel horns are found in both sexes, curving in a slight "S" over their length. They are ridged and grow 15-25 cm / 6-10 inches long in females and 22-35 cm / 8.8-14 inches long in males.
Ontogeny and Reproduction
Gestation Period: 184-189 days.
Young per Birth: 1
Weaning: At about 3 months.
Sexual Maturity: Females at 9 months of age, males at 18 months.
Life span: Around 12 years.Reproduction occurs throughout most of the year, and young animals stay hidden away from their mothers after birth.
Ecology and Behavior
Although the red-fronted gazelle can obtain most of its moisture requirements from the plants that it eats, it is more water-dependent than most other species of gazelles which live in the same region. As a result, these gazelles must undertake seasonal migrations within their range: north into the desert in the wet season, and returning to the south in the dry season. These gazelles prefer open habitats, and hence may be found in close proximity with humans and their cultivated areas. Breeding males defend territories from other males, marking the boundaries with dung piles and secretions from the preorbital glands.Family group: Small mixed herds of 2-6 animals, rarely up to 15.
Diet: Grasses, leaves.
Main Predators: Cheetah, Cape hunting dog, lion, leopard, hyena, python.
Distribution
Open thornbrush savanna and vegetation-covered dunes in a narrow cross-Africa band south of the Sahara (the Sahel).
Range Map (Redrawn from IEA, 1998)
Conservation Status
As a species, the red-fronted gazelle is considered vulnerable by the IUCN (1996). E. r. tilonura is also classified as a vulnerable subspecies.
Remarks
Sometimes grouped with Thomson's gazelle as a single species, the red-fronted gazelle today generally has specific status amongst taxonomists. 'Red-fronted' refers to the rufous-coloured forehead on this gazelle. Ghazal (Arabic) a wild goat; -ellus (Latin) a diminutive suffix. Rufus (Latin) red; frons (Latin) the forehead, brow.
Literature Cited
Happold, D. C. D. 1987. The Mammals of Nigeria. Oxford: Clarendon Press.IEA (Institute of Applied Ecology). 1998. Gazella rufifrons. In African Mammals Databank - A Databank for the Conservation and Management of the African Mammals Vol 1 and 2. Bruxelles: European Commission Directorate. Available online at http://gorilla.bio.uniroma1.it/amd/amd168b.html
Walther, F. R. 1990. Gazelles and related species. In Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Edited by S. P. Parker. New York: McGraw-Hill. Volume 5, pp. 462-484.
Wilson, D. E., and D. M. Reeder [editors]. 1993. Mammal Species of the World (Second Edition). Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press. Available online at http://nmnhwww.si.edu/msw/
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