Goitered gazelle

The graceful runner of the desert

The goitered gazelle is a small, graceful antelope that lives in Uzbekistan's deserts. It runs at 60 km/h and can go without drinking at all — it gets water from plants! At the 'Jeyran' eco-centre near Bukhara they are bred and protected. In spring the male's throat swells — that's where the name comes from ('goitered' means swollen throat).

The goitered gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa) is an antelope of the deserts of Central Asia, Iran, the Caucasus and China. In the 20th century poaching and habitat loss nearly wiped it out in Uzbekistan; in 1977 the 'Jeyran' eco-centre was founded in Bukhara region, where more than 1,000 animals have been bred from 42 and are being released into the wild — one of Central Asia's most successful recovery projects. Listed in the Red Book. Desert-adapted: 60 km/h, walks 30 km a day, needs no drinking water. Males have 30 cm lyre-shaped horns. In winter herds of 100 gather.

Fun facts

• A goitered gazelle can live without drinking at all — it gets water from plants.
• The eco-centre near Bukhara bred more than 1,000 gazelles from just 42.
• A newborn gazelle is hidden in the grass for a week — its mother comes only to feed it.