Almeria’s Cuvier’s gazelle gives birth to triplets 

Just fifteen years after the first birth of Cuvier’s gazelle triplets in La Hoya, this rare event has happened again.

The Saharan Fauna Farm of La Hoya in Almeria hosted the birth of the triplets.

Around fifty-five per cent of the time this species of gazelle gives birth to either a single calf and forty-five per cent of the time they give birth to twins. This applies to births both in captivity and in the wild.

Spring is the main calving season in La Hoya, as it is in the wild, and the first birth of a female Cuvier’s gazelle this year occurred on April 25. Since then, 16 females have given birth to 26 calves, three of which have been part of the same litter.

In mammals, litter size, i.e. the number of offspring born at each birth, is usually fairly constant in each species and is usually correlated, among other things, with the size of the individual, the gestation period and life expectancy.

The Finca Experimental La Hoya is a unique facility that the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) has in Almeria.