"Mpoohorr's gazelle" redirects here.

Dama Gazelle
Mhorr gazelle, N. d. mhorr
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Antilopinae
Genus:	Nanger
Species:	N. dama
Binomial name
Nanger dama Pallas, 1766
Subspecies
N. dama dama[2] N. dama mhorr N. dama ruficollis also see text
Geographic range
Synonyms
Gazella dama

The dama gazelle or addra gazelle (Nanger dama formerly Gazella dama) is a species of gazelle. It lives in Africa in the Sahara desert and migrates south in search of food during the dry season. Its habitat includes open steppes; bushy, grassy steppes; semi-deserts; and deserts; while their diet includes grasses, leaves (especially Acacia leaves), shoots, and fruit. After the rains return and the desert plants turn green, the gazelles move north back to the Sahara. Poaching and destruction of their habitat have greatly diminished their numbers, and they no longer live in large herds. In Niger, the dama has become a national symbol. Under the Hausa name meyna or ménas^[3] the Dama appears on the badge of the Niger national football team, who are popularly called the Ménas.^[4][5]

Description[link]

Dama gazelle are white with a tannish-brown head and neck. Both sexes usually have medium length ringed horns curved like an "S". Males' horns are about 35 cm (14 in) long, while females' horns are much shorter. The gazelles' heads are small with narrow muzzles, their eyes are relatively large, and they have longer necks and legs than most gazelles. These animals are between 90 to 110 cm (35 to 43 in) tall at the shoulder, weigh between 35 and 75 kg (77 and 170 lb), and have a life span of up to 12 years or 18 in captivity.^[6] After just a few days following birth, dama young are strong enough to follow the herd, and after a week, they are able to run as fast as the adults.

Damas are considered the largest type of gazelle, with incredibly long legs, which provide extra surface area on their body to dissipate heat, one of the many ways they stay cool in their hot desert environment. They also tend to need more water than some of their desert relatives, but they can withstand fairly long periods of drought. Unlike many other desert mammals, dama are a diurnal species, meaning they are active during the day.

Always on the alert, dama use a behavior called pronking to warn herd members of danger. Pronking involves the animal hopping up and down with all four of their legs stiff, so that their limbs all leave and touch the ground at the same time. Males also establish territories, and during breeding season they actively exclude other mature males. They mark their territories with urine and dung piles and secretions from glands near their eyes.

Subspecies status and conservation[link]

The mhorr gazelle subspecies N. dama mhorr is extinct in the wild but present in breeding programs in Europe and America,^[7][7] and several reintroduction efforts have introduced animals into former and similar habitat areas.

The dama nominate subspecies N. dama dama is extinct in the wild and not represented in captivity.

The addra subspecies N. dama ruficollis is still present in the wild but quickly declining. Its numbers have fallen by 80% over the last decade, and the addra gazelle is now listed as critically endangered, though there are still as many as 2000 left. They occur in poor countries and little action is taken to protect the species, the national parks are not well guarded and poaching still occurs. Captive populations are managed in zoos in Africa and America.^[1]

Threats to survival[link]

Biological threats[link]

Dama gazelle don’t need a lot of rainfall but they need more than other desert animals. They are not as resistant and perish from a lack of water during the drought season. The environment has become ill suited for them. Disease also kills off a lot of the dama gazelle population. There are many people and domesticated animals that come onto their land. If they pick up a disease from one of these domesticated species they may not be able to fight it off and die.^[8]

Human threats[link]

A big reason for the decline of this gazelle is habitat destruction. Humans cut down the branches of the trees that these gazelles need to feed from. As a result, a lot of the trees die and the gazelle cannot eat.^[9]

Human threats are the most dangerous of threats to the dama gazelle. The main reason this species of gazelle is endangered is because of mechanized hunting. Hunters using vehicles increase the decline of the dama gazelles.^[9] Civil unrest, for instance in Sudan, also negatively affects the life of the dama gazelle.^[9] Since the gazelle is already having a hard time surviving these conditions have made its habitat unsuitable.^[10]

A new threat that the gazelle faces is tourism. Tourists want to take pictures of this endangered species and in doing so may be perceived as a threat, especially during the hot season.^[9] Gazelles will run away from perceived danger, and in the hot season may overheat and die of stress.

Conservation efforts[link]

As of today, there have been very few actions taken in the conservation of the dama gazelle.^[8] The few measures that have been taken are reserves so the animal can live in peaceful environment and captive breeding to help rebuild the populations.

There was a reserve for mhorr gazelles set up in 1971 to help avoid extinction of the dama gazelle. This reserve, Parque de Rescate de la Fauna Sahariana (Rescue Park for Saharan Fauna) of the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (Experimental Station of Arid Zones), is in Spain. The reserve has been a success and is still around today.^[11]

There was another reserve for the mhorr subspecies in Chad called the Ouadi Rime-Ouadi Achime Faunal Reserve.^[9] This reserve was effective from 1978–1987, but due to civil war, the reserve was abandoned.^[8]

Captive breeding is a very popular way to help an endangered species repopulate. This is a good way to have the species reproduce in captivity and then free them back into the wild. It can be a helpful way for the species to recover. It may be bad because small population sizes are used and there may not be enough genetic variance or there may be interbreeding between the animals. This is the most effective way to avoid the species from going extinct.^[11]

Addra gazelles, part of the breeding program at the National Zoo

Most addra gazelles are now managed in zoos and AZA institutions in the United States according to a Species Survival Plan.^[8] Small population size and inbreeding are a serious concern in this population due to the increased parasite load and reduced reproductive viability.^[12] No reserves for this subspecies exists in the wild, and few substantial in situ conservation efforts have been mounted due to the political situation in the current fragmented addra habitat.

Researchers J.F. Grettenberger & J.E. Newby in 1986 wrote that survival of this species depended on more reserves being created in the Sahelian and Saharan zones where the highest concentration of gazelles reside.^[9] As the population deteriorates, researchers in 2008 stressed the need for healthy captive population and for help to preserve their habitats in the wild.^[8]

Gallery[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nanger dama

Wikispecies has information related to: Nanger dama

• The Living Desert - Mhorr gazelle
• Dama Gazelle at Al Wabra Wildlife Preserve
• Animal Bytes

Henry Doorly (November 9, 1879 – June 21, 1961), a native of Barbados, moved to Omaha while working as an engineer and then moved into the newspaper business. He became the chairman of the World Publishing Company and publisher of the Omaha World-Herald in Omaha, Nebraska. Doorly worked for the company for 58 years,^[1] becoming a highly influential figure in the city. Omaha's zoo was renamed in his memory in 1963.^[2]

Early years[link]

Born to Martin E. Doorly and Katherine Carrington in Barbados, Henry was educated at Harrison College in Bridgetown. From 1896 to 1898 he studied civil engineering in the West Indies. Arriving in Omaha in 1902 as a surveyor with the Union Pacific Railroad, he spent two years working as a draftsman with the United States Army Corps of Engineers in Omaha. On September 7, 1904 Doorly married Margaret Hitchcock in Omaha, becoming the son-in-law of World-Herald publisher and politician Gilbert M. Hitchcock.^[3]

Omaha World-Herald[link]

Beginning as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald, Doorly failed miserably, retaining his job only because he was the publisher's daughter's fiancé. Doorly became successful after moving to advertisement sales, soon becoming advertising manager and then business manager for the newspaper.^[4]

Doorly took control of the Omaha World-Herald in 1934 when his father-in-law, Gilbert M. Hitchcock, died. Reflecting the changing nature of the major American political parties and Doorly's personal disenchantment with the New Deal in the 1930s, he implemented the newspaper's editorial page shift toward a Republican Party policy stance.

Under Doorly's guidance, the paper soon standardized advertisement policies and procedures. To enforce brevity and variety, Doorly had a daily "Item Count" conducted to count the number of stories in each news category, including local news, society, and international sections. The staff consequently produced as many as 450 separate news stories a day.^[5]

Omaha Bee[link]

In 1937 William Randolph Hearst sold Doorly the Bee-News, his main competitor in Omaha.^[6] During World War II, Doorly used his position to lead a national campaign educating newspaper editors and publishers in promoting steel recycling to support the war.^[7]

Doorly retired in 1955, leaving control of both newspapers to Walter E. Christiansen.^[5] He died in 1961 of an apparent heart attack.^[8][9]

Legacy[link]

In 1963, his widow Margaret Hitchcock Doorly donated $750,000 (approximately $4.5 million in 2005 dollars) to the Omaha Zoological Society. It was organized in 1953 to improve the Riverview Park Zoo and to provide administrative help to the city.^[10] With her donation, Doorly stipulated that the zoo be renamed in memory of her late husband.^[2]

See also[link]

• History of Omaha

References[link]