Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
Formerly widespread in UAE but then its range became reduced. Around 15-25 years ago it was known from a few sites in the Hajar Mountains and large areas of desert between Jebel Ali and Sweihan (Hornby 1996, Aspinall et al. 2005). Sites in the mountains include Gulfa Wadi (Masfut), Wadi Jabsah (Fujairah), and on the ridges above Wadi Awsaq, on the southern edge of the Musandam (in the mid-1990s). At the same time, gazelles were present in neighbouring Oman in Wadi Qahfi (near the so-called Hatta Pools); in several wadis with permanent water along the mountain front south of the Hatta road; and in the remote high Musandam, east of Jebel Harim). Musandam records from the late 2000s in the area near the watershed between Wadi Bih and Wadi Khabb Shamsi are believed to represent releases (a pair of animals was found in the same locality at ca. 1,200 m in two successive years). Some of the remaining desert subpopulations have also been supplemented by releases from captive breeding programmes, in some cases, such as the Dubai Desert, since the mid-1990s. The Al Marmoom Conservation Area and adjacent areas of the Dubai Desert hold one of the largest current subpopulations. This area also holds Oryx leucoryx and Gazella marica. The area is provisioned by the Dubai Municipality and the Ruler's Office with alfafa and water, but oryx tend to dominate the feeding points while the gazelles range widely over the whole area. Mountain Gazelles have also been released in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, on Siniyyah Island, Arabian Oryx Protected Area and at other sites in Abu Dhabi Emirate. Based on the known habitat preferences, it is assumed that historically G. marica occupied desert areas and G. arabica the mountains and their fringes, but releases may now have obscured the original pattern. The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was once widely distributed. The largest remaining subpopulations are found in Oman and on the Farasan islands in Saudi Arabia. It has been reintroduced to the Uruq Bani Ma'arid, Mahazat as Sayd, and Ibex Reserves in Saudi Arabia. There is a small introduced subpopulation on Farur Island, Iran (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group 2017a).
History
Over the last 15-25 years, captive breeding, releases and reinforcement, and the establishment of a network of protected areas has resulted in a large and stable population. Hornby (1996) listed Gazella gazella cora as Vulnerable and the backcasted 1996 assessment for this species is also Vulnerable under criteria C2a(i); D1.
