Dispersal pattern of mountain gazelles Gazella gazella released in centralArabia

Captive-born mountain gazelles were freed in Hawtah Reserve, Saudi Arabia, during 1991-95. Most were tagged and many were radiocollared, permitting th e 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 male s that became territorial did so immediately after being freed. Released fe males 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 wad that already contained gazelles moved furt her than females freed in an empty wad, suggesting that intraspecific compe tition prompted some individuals to move. The dispersal distances of female s 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 i n the wild within 3.5 km of their release site. Territorial males moved fur ther away from their release site when they became non-territorial, but jus t 27% established a second territory. Only 27 % of females dispersed after the birth of their first wild-conceived calves, but many of these moves wer e associated with changes in the density and spatial pattern of male territ ories. The total range area of individual gazelles averaged 12.7 km(2), but it varied from 0.7 to 37.8 km(2) and was correlated with an individual's p ost-release dispersal distance. (C) 2000 Academic Press.