Population growth of mountain gazelles Gazella gazella reintroduced to central Arabia

Published source details Dunham K.M. (1997) Population growth of mountain gazelles Gazella gazella reintroduced to central Arabia. Biological Conservation, 81, 205-214.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.

	Action	Category
	Release captive-bred individuals to re-establish or boost populations in native range Action Link

Release captive-bred individuals to re-establish or boost populations in native range

A study in 1991–1995 in a desert reserve in central Saudi Arabia (Dunham 1997) found that nearly half of captive-bred mountain gazelles Gazella gazella released into the wild survived more than two years, and the population bred successfully and more than doubled in size. Of a total of 71 released gazelles, 69–73% survived over one year and 58–59% survived over two years. Mortality was high in the first month after release (13% died), but the mean annual survival rate of gazelles which survived the first month was 78%. Gazelles that were over three years of age when released were more likely to die within 54 weeks of release than younger animals (54% vs 19% mortality) due to a higher rate of predation by wolves. Released females gave birth to at least 134 calves, of which at least 107 were conceived in the wild. By December 1994, the population had increased to 152–185 animals. Between January 1991 and June 1993, seventy-one captive-born mountain gazelles were released into three valleys inside a 2,000-km² reserve. The valleys were fenced to exclude domestic camels but allowed movement of gazelles. All released individuals were ear-tagged and 28 were fitted with a radio-collar. Gazelles were monitored using binoculars and a telescope on 396 days between January 1991 and June 1995. Gazelles were provided with water year-round.

(Summarised by: Ricardo Rocha)