THE GAZELLE 



In the deserts and plains between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the 

 dorcas gazelle is especially numerous, its food chiefly consists of mimosa-bushes ; 

 these bushes growing most abundantly on low, boulder-strewn hills which form the 

 favourite feeding-places of the gazelles. Unlike many ruminants, gazelles are 

 almost constantly on the move, resting only during the very hottest hours of the 

 day, when they seek the shade of the mimosas: and when thus reposing, even 

 experienced hunters find it extremely difficult to distinguish them from the boulders 

 amid which they lie. 



Gazelles mostly associate in herds of variable size ; but they are generally 

 seen on their feeding-grounds either in small parties of from two to eight head, or 

 singly. They are extremely shy and watchful, and nearly always feed with the wind 

 behind them ; while their favourite stations are on elevated ground, where they 

 can command an extensive view of the plains below. When a herd is alarmed 

 and takes to flight, its members always seek shelter on the nearest hill. 



The senses of sight, smell, and hearing are all highly developed in gazelles ; 

 and the speed of these beautiful antelopes is little short of marvellous. Indeed, 

 when a gazelle is fleeing from the slughi hounds, or so-called Persian greyhounds, 

 with which the Arabs hunt the fawns, they seem scarcely to touch the ground, and 

 to be flying rather than running. 



Previous to the pairing-season the bucks fight among themselves, and so 

 fiercely that they not infrequently lose a horn. After a gestation of between five 

 and six months, the doe gives birth to a single fawn, which is at first extremely 

 helpless, when it is most assiduously nursed by the mother. Young gazelles are 

 beautiful little creatures, which in their own country can be kept and tamed without 

 difficulty ; in cold climates they require, however, shelter and protection in cold 

 and bad weather. 



Pictures of the gazelle are common among the ancient Egyptian frescoes, 

 especially in the temples at Giza, Thebes, Sakhara, and Beni-hassan ; and from a 

 painting in a tomb at Sakhara it' may be inferred that herds of these graceful 

 ruminants were kept in a half-tamed condition in Pharaonic times. 



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