Dispersal pattern of mountain gazelles Gazella gazella released in central Arabia

Captive-born mountain gazelles were freed in Hawtah Reserve, Saudi Arabia, during 1991–95. Most were tagged and many were radiocollared, permitting the study of post-release dispersal and breeding dispersal. Territorial males moved an average of 2 km from their release site. Older males established territories sooner after release than younger males: most 3–4 year-old males that became territorial did so immediately after being freed. Released females moved an average of 3 km before producing their first wild-conceived calves. Dispersal distances were greater for younger females than for older ones. Females released in a wadi that already contained gazelles moved further than females freed in an empty wadi, suggesting that intraspecific competition prompted some individuals to move. The dispersal distances of females and territorial males did not differ. The maximum dispersal distance was 12•1 km, but 80% of females and territorial males bred for the first time in the wild within 3•5 km of their release site. Territorial males moved further away from their release site when they became non-territorial, but just 27% established a second territory. Only 27% of females dispersed after the birth of their first wild-conceived calves, but many of these moves were associated with changes in the density and spatial pattern of male territories. The total range area of individual gazelles averaged 12•7 km2, but it varied from 0•7 to 37•8 km2and was correlated with an individualʹs post-release dispersal distance.