Gazella dorcas (Linnaeus, 1758).

This small gazelle averages 90 cm in length and is 55 or 56 cm high at the shoulder. Its color is sandy-reddish on the back with a dark stripe on each side. There are a distinct white eye ring and two stripes, one white and one dark brown, running from the eye to the corner of the mouth on each side of the face. The male has ridged lyre-shaped horns; the horns of the female are straighter and more slender. The Dorcas Gazelle lives in both rocky and sandy desert and feeds on desert plants, especially acacia leaves, thorns, flowers, and pods. It must drink water and is said to be able to survive for only twelve days without water in winter. It is active from dusk to dawn. The gestation period is five and a half months and a single calf is born; rarely twins. The principal predators of this animal were formerly cheetahs and leopards, but today, man is its worst enemy and it is endangered because of illegal hunting.