Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii)
Przewalski's gazelle (Procapra przewalskii) is a member of the family Bovidae, and in the wild, is found only in China. Once widespread, its range has declined to six populations near Qinghai Lake. The gazelle was named after Nikolai Przhevalsky, a Russian explorer who collected a specimen and brought it back to St. Petersburg in 1875.
Przewalski's gazelle is similar in appearance to both the Tibetan gazelle and the Mongolian gazelle, to both of which it is closely related, and occurs in similar geographic areas. It is intermediate in size between the other two species, and can most easily be distinguished from them by the shape of its horns.
Until the early 20th century, Przewalski's gazelle was widespread across the high plateaus of northwestern China and Inner Mongolia. However, it is now found only in a single small area around Qinghai Lake, having been extirpated across the great majority of its former range. It inhabits flat open valleys and steppeland between mountains, and the sand dunes and semi-desert zones around lakes. I have personally seen herds in most of the locations on the map above.
Two sub-species have been described, although one is now believed to be extinct:
P. przewalskii przewalskii - Qinghai
P. przewalskii diversicornis † - Gansu and the Ordos Loop region
