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a b s t r a c tFood preferences of the sand gazelle (Gazella marica) from the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area in Saudi Arabia were evaluated using focal animal sampling in conjunction with an eco-morphological method examining two parameters of tooth wear, i.e., occlusal relief and cusp shape. Observations of live, freeranging animals (n = 53) showed that sand gazelles generally consumed more grass (58.4%) than browse (41.6%). However, during the dry season, gazelles spent significantly more time browsing (51.0%) and less time grazing (49.0%) than under wet conditions (browsing: 17.6%; grazing: 82.4%). Thus, consistent with predictions, sand gazelles are intermediate feeders but shift towards browsing when grass is scarce. The mesowear signature of the sand gazelle is consistent with a grazing signal in other ruminants. In other words, the browse component of the diets of live animals was not reflected in the tooth wear. This could have occurred because browse is less abrasive than grass, but more likely because all food types are heavily abrasive in this dusty habitat. We conclude that the sand gazelle population in Mahazat as-Sayd encounters a highly abrasive diet, which has implications for their ability to meet nutritional demands.

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The mountain gazelle Gazella gazella in Saudi Arabia is categorized as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. On the mainland the species’ survival depends on a few remnant populations in the western Mountains and coastal plains and on two reintroduced populations. The largest natural population of G. gazella in Saudi Arabia is the Farasan gazelle subspecies G. g. farasani, which inhabits the Farasan Islands in the Red Sea. We review and collate the available literature on this subspecies, mainly unpublished reports presenting wildlife census data, and supplement this with the most recent, 2009, count. The number of free-ranging gazelles has remained approximately constant since the first counts in 1988, with an overall density of 0.64 km-2 and an estimated population of 1,039 on Farasan Kebir in 2009. The populations on two other islands, As Saqid and Zifaf, have not fared as well, possibly because of uncontrolled hunting pressure, competition with domestic stock or poor habitat conditions overall. The population on Qummah Island is extinct. Threats to this subspecies include uncontrolled hunting and uncoordinated development. Continued protection of this apparently stable population of mountain gazelle in Saudi Arabia is imperative to ensure the survival of the species.