Procapra gutturosa

The Mongolian gazelle is slender, but larger and slightly more robust than the Tibetan gazelle and Przewalski's gazelle. Its head and body length is 108-160 cm, its shoulder height is 54-84 cm, its tail length is 9-12 cm, its ear length is 9.7 cm, its total skull length is 22-27 cm, and its weight is 25-45 kg. It is a medium-sized and graceful antelope. The male has shorter horns (20 cm) that bend backwards and then upwards, with the horn tips bending inwards. In summer, the back fur is orange-yellow, and the sides are yellow-brown. Compared with the light sandy yellow goitered gazelle, the body color is much darker. The ventral and hip spots are white, and the tail color is dark. When it swings left and right, it has a clear contrast with the white hip spots. The winter fur color is light. The head is round and blunt, the ears are long and pointed, and they are covered with dense hair. It has infraorbital glands, which is different from the Tibetan gazelle and Przewalski's g

Distributed in eastern and central Inner Mongolia, China, southward to the borders of Hebei, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, as well as Mongolia and Russia.
Extinct: Kazakhstan.
Inhabits rolling arid steppes and grassland plains; especially Stipa spp. steppes, sometimes semi-desert areas. Generally avoids high mountains or pure desert areas, only occasionally visiting high mountains or canyon areas, but never entering deserts. In the past, it also lived in the wetter steppes of Northeast China.

Mongolian Gazelle is called Mongolian Gazelle in foreign language. It has no subspecies.

Mongolian Gazelle likes to live in groups. When migrating northward in spring, groups of 6,000 to 8,000 have been observed. In the summer pasture, males separate from the group. The group stays together for a long time, and the distance and range of movement are also large. Generally, large-scale migration takes place in spring and autumn, and the movement is carried out according to the growth of pasture. In winter, they move south to the edge of the weedy grassland and the desert grassland in the south, but they will not cross the south of the Great Wall. During the migration, they mainly eat dead grass and snow to satisfy their hunger and thirst. When resting, they usually use their hooves to dig up the snow to form a shallow pit, and then the group members gather together and lie in it. If it is a very cold day or a windy and snowy night, they will be close to each other and huddle together.

In spring, the group of Mongolian antelope will gradually move north. In summer, they usually forage in the early morning and afternoon, and often go to the saltwater lake with salt crystals to lick food. They usually eat grass and a small amount of leaves. At this time, the food includes weeds such as long-awn, needle grass, and multi-bearded allium, shrubs such as caragana, as well as wormwood, sauerkraut, and beans. There are often waterfowl such as geese around them in the feeding places, living in harmony with each other. Mongolian gazelles are very thirst-resistant and sometimes can go without water for several days. At noon, they like to disperse into small groups to lie quietly and ruminate. In autumn, each family gathers into a large group, sometimes up to thousands of them, and migrates in a mighty manner. Usually there is an experienced male beast leading the way in front, and the rest of the individuals follow one by one to form a column, in an orderly and sequential manner.

Mongolian gazelles are good at jumping, up to 2.5 meters in height, and can jump up to 6-7 meters on flat ground, and can even jump up to 13 meters on downhill. Mongolian gazelles are also good at running, with a maximum speed of about 90 kilometers per hour. If it runs at a speed of 75 kilometers per hour, it can last for 1 hour. Sometimes it moves straight forward in the wilderness, sometimes it runs back and forth, and it especially likes to fly over the horses and cars running on the grassland. Because of its outstanding running ability and its sensitive senses, it is not afraid when it finds its natural enemies in the distance. It often stares for a while, then runs a distance, stops again, looks back, and then runs away quickly, disappearing without a trace in a flash.

The mating season of Mongolian gazelles is in late autumn and early winter. Before the breeding season arrives, males first form a group alone and move separately from females, and then return to the large group during the mating season in late autumn and early winter. Males are very excited during the mating season, their necks swell and become thick and large, and they often run around with their heads down, desperately chasing females. When fighting for a mate, males often use the hissing sound of "Aka, Aka" to threaten the other party. This sound is very loud and can be heard several kilometers away on the grassland. However, the fights of Mongolian gazelles are not fierce. Once the opponent retreats and is driven out, it will stop abruptly, and there will be no death due to fighting.

In May and June, most Mongolian gazelle groups migrate to areas with abundant water and grass. In early July, pregnant females live alone, with a gestation period of 186 days, and then give birth in relatively sparse shrubs, with 1-2 cubs per litter, and occasionally 3 cubs. Newly born cubs can stand up after being licked dry by the female. After 3 days of birth, they can run fast with the female, with a speed of about 40 kilometers per hour. After 2-3 months, they can run at the highest speed, which can reach 80-90 kilometers per hour. The cubs reach sexual maturity at 17-18 months. Male cubs grow short horns on the top of the frontal bone at 4-5 months of age. By winter, they are 1-2 cm long, black, upright and smooth, without rings, and covered by long hair on the top of the head. When they reach sexual maturity at 1-2 years old, they have 6-10 rings, and the number of rings gradually increases.

Due to poaching, fencing restrictions and grassland reclamation, most populations in central and western Mongolia have disappeared, are endangered in Russia, and are rare animals in China. The distribution range of Mongolian gazelles in China is about 25% of that in the 1950s-1970s (Mongolian gazelles are now only found in eastern Inner Mongolia). During this period, the population has dropped significantly, from about 2 million to 250,000 (only 80,000-85,000 live in China permanently and do not migrate to Mongolia. Jiang and Wang 2001, Olson et al. 2005).

Listed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2016 ver3.1 - Least Concern (LC).

Listed in the February 25, 2021 edition of China's National List of Key Protected Wildlife.

Protect wildlife and eliminate game.

Maintaining ecological balance is everyone's responsibility!