Use of artificial water supplies by captive-born mountain gazelles (Gazella gazella) released in central Arabia

Tagged, captive-bred mountain gazelles were released into Hawtah Reserve, S audi Arabia. More than 1 year after they were freed, their drinking behavio ur at two water troughs was recorded for 2.5 months during late summer/autu mn, using automatic cameras and monitors triggered when an infra-red beam w as broken. Only 30% of gazelles (n = 40) were recorded drinking and only in dividuals which lived close to troughs drank. No gazelles visited the one n atural water point. Among gazelles which lived close to the troughs, older individuals were more likely to drink than younger animals. The noise of th e cameras as they took a photograph frightened some gazelles and may have i nfluenced their frequency of drinking after they were photographed for the first time.