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Devious Grin

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Description

The dama gazelle, addra gazelle, or Mhorr gazelle (Nanger dama, formerly Gazella dama) is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa in the Sahara desert and migrates south in search of food during the dry season, particularly Chad, Mali, and Niger. Its habitat includes open or bushy, grassy steppes, semideserts, and deserts. Their diets includes grasses, leaves (especially Acacia leaves), shoots, and fruit. After the rains return and the desert plants turn green, the gazelles move north back to the Sahara. Poaching and destruction of their habitat have greatly diminished their numbers, and they no longer live in large herds.

The dama gazelle is white with a tannish-brown head and neck. Both sexes usually have medium-length ringed horns curved like an "S". Males' horns are about 35 cm (14 in) long, while females' horns are much shorter. The gazelles' heads are small with narrow muzzles, their eyes are relatively large, and they have longer necks and legs than most gazelles. These animals are between 90 and 120 cm (35 and 47 in) tall at the shoulder, weigh between 35 and 75 kg (77 and 170 lb), and have lifespans up to 12 years in the wild or 18 in captivity. A few days following birth, dama young are strong enough to follow the herd, and after a week, they are able to run as fast as the adults.

Damas are considered the largest type of gazelle, with incredibly long legs, which provide extra surface area on their bodies to dissipate heat, one of the many ways they stay cool in their hot desert environment. They also tend to need more water than some of their desert relatives, but they can withstand fairly long periods of drought. Unlike many other desert mammals, damas are a diurnal species, meaning they are active during the day.

Always on the alert, damas use a behavior called pronking to warn herd members of danger. Pronking involves the animal hopping up and down with all four of their legs stiff, so their limbs all leave and touch the ground at the same time. Males also establish territories, and during breeding season, they actively exclude other mature males. They mark their territories with urine and dung piles and secretions from glands near their eyes.(via Wikipedia)


Image size
3872x2592px 6.81 MB
Make
SONY
Model
DSLR-A100
Shutter Speed
1/500 second
Aperture
F/5.6
Focal Length
300 mm
ISO Speed
200
Date Taken
Nov 19, 2012, 10:58:41 AM
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Comments4
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WillemSvdMerwe's avatar
Man, these gazelles are so beautiful! What a shame there are so few of them left.