The dorcas gazelle is a small ungulate found typically in the extensive deserts of North Africa, the Sinai peninsula, Palestine and Arabia; its colour is very close to that of the desert sands, and it has delicate silhouette and deeply ringed, lyre-shaped horns. The subspecies seen here in the zoo is the Western Sahara dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas neglecta), one of the breeds in greatest danger of extinction at present.

The dorcas gazelle was very numerous until relatively recently and large herds roamed the deserts in search of pasture and water. It had always been hunted for its meat by the nomadic peoples inhabiting the region, but the advent of firearms and motor vehicles has led to the decimation of these herds.