| Speke's Gazelle | |
|---|---|
| At the San Diego Zoo | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Family: | Bovidae |
| Subfamily: | Antilopinae |
| Genus: | Gazella |
| Species: | G. spekei |
| Binomial name | |
| Gazella spekei Blyth, 1863 |
|
Speke's Gazelle (Gazella spekei) is the smallest of the gazelle species. It is confined to the horn of Africa where it inhabits stony brush, grass steppes, and semi deserts (Kingdom 1982, 1997). This species has been sometimes regarded as a subspecies of the dorcas gazelle though this is now widely disregarded (Groves 1969). Severe habitat fragmentation means it is now impossible to assess the natural migratory or nomadic patterns of G. spekei. (East 1996). Its numbers are under threat, and despite an increase in population it was announced by the IUCN in 2007 that its status had risen from vulnerable to endangered. Captive population is maintained, and the wild population exists in the lower ten thousands. This Gazelle is currently (2008) classified as endangered under the IUCN Red List.
Speke's Gazelle is named after John Hanning Speke, an English explorer of Central Africa.