Arabian Sand Gazelle

The Arabian sand gazelle, Gazella marica, also called the reem, is a species of gazelle native to the Arabian and Syrian Deserts. Today it survives in the wild in small, isolated populations in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and southeastern Turkey, and small numbers may also be present in Kuwait, Iraq, Jordan and Syria. The total wild population is thought to be under 3,000, while perhaps more than 100,000 are held in captivity, reserves and breeding programs. Until recently it was treated as a subspecies of the goitered gazelle, but a 2010 genetic study showed it to be a distinct lineage, and a 2012 analysis found it closely related to Cuvier's gazelle and the rhim.