Saudi Gazelle (Gazella saudiya)
The Saudi Gazelle, described in 1935, was native to the Arabian Peninsula, where it inhabited sandy acacia plains.
The species disappeared du to excessive hunting and was declared extinct in the wild in 1980 when it very probably was already globally extinct, because all captive individuals were subsequently shown to represent hybrids or different species.
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edited: 18.10.2020
Tag Archives: Yemen
Gazella bilkis Groves & Lay
Queen of Sheba’s Gazelle (Gazella bilkis)
Queen of Sheba’s Gazelle aka. Yemen Gazelle was for some time believed to be a subspecies of the Arabian Gazelle (Gazella arabica (Lichtenstein)) (see photo below) but is now considered a distinct species.
The species inhabited the mountains near city of Ta’izz in southwestern Yemen where it was last seen in 1951 when it apparently still was quite common.
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In 1985, a photograph of gazelles taken in a private collection, the Al Wabra Wildlife Farm in Qatar, might show this species, however, this has apparently never been confirmed, nor seems the subsequent fate of these animals to be known.
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Queen of Sheba’s Gazelle is now considered extinct with the cause of its extinction being uncertain, however, it most likely was hunted to extinction.
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Photo: Ubm007
(under creative commons license (4.0))
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0
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edited: 18.10.2020