Status of a reintroduced population of mountain gazelles Gazella gazella in central Arabia: management lessons from an aridland reintroduction

Abstract

Mountain gazelles were reintroduced to central Arabia during 1991–95. Hawtah reserve was searched for gazelles during the 1998–99 winter. Gazelles were seen in one wadi system and their signs were found in several others and on the plateau. Sightings were used to calculate the minimum number of gazelles in the Matham wadi system, which previously held most of the population. During October–November 1998, the minimum number was 64 per cent less than 4 years earlier. Frequent observation of recent signs in areas where no gazelles were seen suggested that daytime sightings alone were no longer adequate for monitoring this population. The decline in the number of gazelles seen, an increase in their flight distance and an apparent change in their activity patterns were consistent with the rangers' claim that poaching had commonly occurred. Poaching started after reserve management built, without adequate consultation, a new fence that was intended to bar local people from part of the reserve. Management lessons include the need for the following: continued monitoring of reintroduced populations after the initial postrelease phase; long-term dialogue with local people; effective law enforcement; and the management of aridland domestic livestock in ways that prevent inter specific competition for food causing the elimination of wild ungulates.