Mhorr Gazelle
Nanger dama mhorr
Mhorr Gazelle (Nanger dama mhorr): The Dama Gazelle Saved in Spain
The Mhorr gazelle is the darkest, westernmost form of the dama gazelle, the largest gazelle on Earth. None has been seen in the wild since 1968. It survives because 19 animals were taken from Western Sahara to a research station in Almería, Spain, in the 1970s, and their descendants now live in zoos and fenced reserves. The dama gazelle as a whole is Critically Endangered.
- Habitat
- Sahara and Sahel desert steppe, semi-desert and acacia shrubland
- Size
- Largest gazelle: about 40-75 kg (males heavier)
- Diet
- Grasses, herbs and the leaves of acacias and other shrubs
- Range
- Mhorr: once Western Sahara and southern Morocco. Wild dama gazelles now only in Chad and Niger
- Conservation
- Dama gazelle Critically Endangered (IUCN, assessed 2025), 45-78 mature animals in the wild
- In captivity
- About 350-400 Mhorr gazelles (2021), managed in an EAZA Ex-situ Programme run from Almería
Habitat & range
The dama gazelle once lived across the Sahel, from the Atlantic coast to the Nile, in desert steppe, semi-desert and acacia shrubland (IUCN 2026; Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy). The Mhorr gazelle was its western form, living in the Atlantic Sahara of Western Sahara and southern Morocco, a coastal desert with steppes and acacia woodland (Moreno et al. 2012). No Mhorr gazelle has been seen in the wild since 1968 (Domínguez et al. 2024). The species as a whole has collapsed too. The IUCN now lists wild dama gazelles only in Chad and Niger, with an estimated 45-78 mature animals left (IUCN 2026).
How to recognise a Mhorr gazelle
The dama gazelle is the largest of all gazelles, with long thin legs and a long slender neck (Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy; RBINS). Every form has a white face, white underparts and a small white patch on the throat. The colour changes from east to west: the eastern addra gazelle is mostly white with a reddish neck and back, while the western Mhorr gazelle is almost completely red-chestnut except its belly and rump. Mhorr gazelles also have reddish cheek patches and thin dark stripes from the eyes to the corners of the mouth (RBINS; Animal Diversity Web). Both males and females have S-shaped, ringed horns that sweep back and then curve up. Males' horns are usually larger and thicker (RBINS).
Operación Mohor: the rescue in Almería
On the night of 14 January 1971, seven Mhorr gazelles (one male and six females) arrived at La Hoya, a farm belonging to the Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas (EEZA), a research centre of Spain's national research council CSIC in Almería. They came from Spanish military posts in Western Sahara, where soldiers had kept them. Two more females joined later that year, and a final group of 10 arrived in November 1975, making 19 in all (5 males and 14 females). The project was led by the ecologist José Antonio Valverde and the museum curator Antonio Cano, joined by his daughter Mar Cano (Abáigar 2021; Domínguez et al. 2024). Only 11 of those 19 left descendants, and genetic studies suggest as few as five real founders (Abáigar 2021). From 1981, groups were sent to zoos in Germany and to San Diego Zoo so the whole population would not live in one place. The Mhorr gazelle's European breeding programme and international studbook were among the first approved, in 1986, and the EEP is still coordinated from Almería (Abáigar 2021; EEZA studbook).
Trying to go home
Releases began in 1984, when gazelles from Almería went to the Guembeul reserve in Senegal. The group grew for almost two decades and then declined (Moreno et al. 2012; Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy). Tunisia's Bou Hedma National Park received gazelles from German zoos from 1990 and 14 from Almería in 1994 (Abáigar et al. 1997), but the herd dwindled, and in 2020 the Mhorr gazelle was reported gone from Tunisia (CSIC Digital; MaghrebOrnitho 2020). In Morocco, 21 gazelles from German zoos were placed in the Rokkein enclosure in Souss-Massa National Park in 1994 and 1998, but that group later died out (Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy). The first true release into the open came on 22 May 2015, when 24 Mhorr gazelles left an enclosure in Morocco's Safia reserve. Feral dogs soon killed seven, and poaching followed. The last sighting was in October 2017 (Abáigar et al. 2019; Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy). Breeding groups still live in Moroccan reserves such as R'Mila, M'Cissi and Safia.
Saved, but with very few genes
Because the herd started so small, the captive Mhorr gazelles are very closely related. A 2024 study of the full studbook (2,739 animals since 1971) found the genetic equivalent of only about three founders and an average inbreeding level of about 28% (Domínguez et al. 2024). Keepers in the EAZA programme choose breeding males that are as unrelated as possible to the females, and they move animals between zoos to limit further losses (Domínguez et al. 2024). The researchers suggest this lack of genetic variety could be one reason reintroduced herds have struggled (Domínguez et al. 2024). The IUCN also notes that genetic evidence does not support splitting the dama gazelle into three subspecies, so the Mhorr is best seen as the western form of one species (IUCN 2026).
Fun facts about Mhorr Gazelle
- No Mhorr gazelle has been seen in the wild since 1968. Every one alive today descends from gazelles brought to Almería, Spain, between 1971 and 1975.
- The first seven Mhorr gazelles reached Almería on the night of 14 January 1971, after being kept by Spanish soldiers in Western Sahara.
- Only 11 of the 19 rescued gazelles left descendants, so the whole captive population is very closely related.
- The dama gazelle is the largest gazelle in the world, weighing up to about 75 kg.
- In 2015, 24 Mhorr gazelles were released into the open in Morocco's Safia reserve, the first true release of the subspecies into the wild.
Mhorr Gazelle vs Arabian Oryx (two desert rescues)
The Arabian oryx is the bigger success so far. The Mhorr gazelle is safe in captivity but still waiting for a herd that lasts in the wild.
This is a comparison of two captive-breeding rescues, not a fight. They never met: the Mhorr gazelle lived in the Atlantic Sahara, and the Arabian oryx lives on the Arabian Peninsula. Both were kept alive by breeding herds. The Arabian oryx has been reintroduced in several countries and is now Vulnerable, with about 850 mature animals (IUCN). The Mhorr gazelle's releases in Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco have struggled with feral dogs, poaching and poor habitat, and the dama gazelle is still Critically Endangered (IUCN 2026; Abáigar et al. 2019).
Read more about Arabian Oryx.
Common questions about Mhorr Gazelle
Is the Mhorr gazelle extinct?
Not completely. It is extinct in the wild: none has been seen there since 1968 (Domínguez et al. 2024). About 350-400 Mhorr gazelles live in zoos and breeding centres in Europe, North America and the Middle East (Abáigar 2021), and small groups live in fenced reserves in Morocco and Senegal (Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy).
What is the difference between a Mhorr gazelle and a dama gazelle?
The Mhorr gazelle is the western form of the dama gazelle (Nanger dama). It is the darkest form, red-chestnut almost everywhere except the belly and rump, while the eastern addra gazelle is mostly white (RBINS). The IUCN notes that genetic evidence does not support the three traditional subspecies.
How many dama gazelles are left in the wild?
Very few. The IUCN Red List assessment (2025, published 2026) estimates only 45-78 mature dama gazelles in the wild, in Chad and Niger, and lists the species as Critically Endangered. Their decline was mainly caused by hunting and habitat loss (Domínguez et al. 2024).
How was the Mhorr gazelle saved from extinction?
Through Operación Mohor. Between 1971 and 1975, 19 Mhorr gazelles kept by Spanish soldiers in Western Sahara were moved to the EEZA-CSIC research station in Almería, Spain. Only 11 left descendants, but the herd grew and was shared with zoos from 1981. Its European breeding programme and studbook were approved in 1986 (Abáigar 2021).
Have Mhorr gazelles been released back into the wild?
Yes, but it has been hard. Gazelles from Almería went to Senegal in 1984 and Tunisia in 1994 (Moreno et al. 2012; Abáigar et al. 1997). In 2015, 24 were freed in Morocco's Safia reserve, but feral dogs killed seven and the last was seen in 2017 (Abáigar et al. 2019; Strategy).
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