Mountain gazelle agonistic behaviour

The behaviour of mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella) in Israel was investigated from 1970 to 1972. Most agonistic encounters occur between members of the same age, sex and social class. Females and immature males did not exhibit the full repertory of display patterns. The intensity of fighting gradually increases as the males mature. However, fights between territorial males are ritualized and not as violent as fights between adult bachelor males. Some encounters, especially among the immature males, take place without recognizable function and situational motivation, while others are linked with the co-ordination of group activity, enforcement of individual distance and territory establishment and maintenance. Horn contact occurs more frequently in the encounters of immature bachelor males than in those of adults or territorial males.