The word gazelle evokes visions of grace and beauty.   Native to the deserts of southwestern Morocco, the Mhorr Gazelle once roamed the dry open country, moving to wherever grass and shrubs were greenest.   Today, however, the Mohrr Gazelle no longer roam the deserts of Morocco because survivors exist only in the confines of captivity.   The Mhorr has been extinct in the wild since the late 1960s, another victim of hunting, agricultural development and habitat modifications.

The March 1998 ISIS (International Species Identification System) listed 21 facilities worldwide housing 48 males and 89 female Mhorr Gazelle in captivity.

This subspecies of dama gazelle, largest of the gazelles, the Mhorr is three feet tall at the shoulder and weighs up to 190 pounds.   Both sexes have 14 inch horns.   Like other gazelles, the Mhorr performs a unique stiff-legged bouncing, called pronking, with all four limbs landing at once.   Pronking may function to communicate alarm, confuse, intimidate, or even to get a better view of a predator.