Abstract
The necropsy records of 279 dorcas gazelles (Gazella dorcas) and 27 Grant’s gazelles (Nanger granti) kept at Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation in Qatar over a period of 8 years were reviewed in order to determine common pathological findings with view to population development and neonatal survival. The most common finding in both species was trauma (41 % in dorcas, 60 % in Grant’s gazelles), followed by pneumonia (20 % in dorcas, 35 % in Grant’s gazelles). Other common diagnoses included gastrointestinal disorders (15 % in dorcas, 25 % in Grant’s gazelles) and nephropathies (11 % in dorcas, 25 % in Grant’s gazelles). In dorcas gazelles neonatal mortality can be reduced, and individual animal welfare can be increased (MELLOR and STAFFORD, 2004), if group size is strictly controlled.