Sand Gazelle (Gazella marica) lives in arid desert lands across Middle Eastern deserts. It feeds on grasses and shrubs. Its conservation status is Vulnerable.
Fascinating facts about the Sand Gazelle
- Only a handful of Arabian sand gazelles still roam the desert, clinging to isolated pockets in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and southeastern Turkey. Their numbers are so low that scientists estimate fewer than 3,000 individuals survive in the wild, with only occasional sightings in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.
- Until 2010, scientists treated the Arabian sand gazelle as just a subspecies of the goitered gazelle, calling it Gazella subgutturosa marica. A genetic study that year proved it is a distinct lineage, prompting taxonomists to elevate it to full species status as Gazella marica.
- While the wild count hovers under 3,000, Arabian sand gazelles live in captivity, reserves, or breeding programs.
- Further DNA work in 2012 linked the Arabian sand gazelle closely with two North African cousins, Cuvier's gazelle and the rhim, so tightly that some scientists suggest they might belong to a single species.
- Fewer than 3,000 Arabian sand gazelles survive in the wild, scattered across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and southeastern Turkey. Those tiny, isolated groups are the species' only natural foothold left. Their razor-thin numbers mean any habitat loss could push the whole species over the edge.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeMiddle Eastern deserts
HabitatArid desert lands
DietGrasses and shrubs
About the Sand Gazelle
Across the scorching dunes, the sand gazelle glides with effortless elegance, its slender legs a blur as it navigates the shifting sands with an uncanny surefootedness. With large, dark eyes ever-vigilant for the lurking shadows of predators, this delicate creature weaves a precarious path through the arid landscape, its tawny coat blending seamlessly into the golden haze of the desert sunset. As it moves, the sand gazelle embodies the very essence of adaptation, its remarkable resilience a testament to the enduring power of life in one of the harshest environments on Earth.
Hear the Sand Gazelle, and 4,400+ more
Real recorded sounds, 11 nature games and a free Daily 5, 1v1 quiz duels, conservation wins and a safe Kids mode. Free on Feravox.
