Males are territorial, although this may be on a temporary basis. Defended ranges are staked out with dung middens, while the small-slitted preorbital glands do not seem to play a role in territorial marking. Walther (1990) remarked on the unusual frequency with which males scrape the ground with the boss of their horns during territorial encounters. In fact, rub marks are quite visible on the front of the horns where they have been scraped on the ground. When confronting rival males, Soemmerring’s gazelles flick their heads, and when fights arise they yank their hooked horns sideways in an attempt to make the opponent lose his balance. When herding females, males make a nasal croak. During the courting of a female, the male drives her at a walking pace with his head raised. Instead of the typical gazelle foreleg kick or nudge (laufschlag), the male does a stiff-legged “trot in place”. Copulation occurs while walking with both partners keeping their heads up and the male trailing after the female on two legs.

Births are said to occur at the peak of the main rains, which would ensure ideal grazing conditions, moisture and cover, for both mother and calf. After a gestation period of approximately 198 days, a female gives birth to a single calf that will lie hidden in the grass away from its mother until it is strong enough to keep up with her. During this time, the mother only returns to her calf to nurse and will consume any waste products produced by her calf to keep it from having a scent. Main predators include cheetahs, Cape hunting dogs, lions, leopards, hyenas and pythons.

All gazelles are especially adapted for arid conditions, which enables them to exploit food resources beyond the range of water dependent herbivores and too meager to support large competitors, e.g., addax and oryx. The Soemmerring’s gazelle is known to survive without drinking water.

Water Conservation Adaptations – concentrated urine and dry feces, reflective coat, evaporative cooling by nasal panting in extreme heat, labile (fluctuating, readily changeable) body temperature, and hairy muffle.

Feeding Adaptations – narrow muzzle and incisor row, mobile lips, and digestive system all designed for highly selective feeding on protein rich foliage and herbage; standing bipedally to increase vertical feeding range; feeding at night or early morning when vegetation has highest water content, and remaining inactive in the shade during the hottest times of the day.

Structural Adaptations – long limbs, level back, and various less obvious specializations are adaptations for long distance travel and rapid flight.

Nomadism and Seasonal Migrations – nomadism enables gazelles to exploit ephemeral, localized plant growth that flourishes for up to a year after a rare heavy rain in otherwise barren wasteland. Where bushes and trees provide a reliable food source, gazelles may be resident in small, localized herds. Gazelles also move seasonally into subdesert and desert to eat the highly nutritious herbage that grows during the brief rainy season, and back to better-watered savannas in the prolonged dry season. Nomadic populations are more likely to be dispersed, but may also concentrate on greenflush produced by localized rainfall. The same species and even the same individuals may be nomadic, migratory, and resident in turn, depending on the distribution and condition of their food supply. Historically, Soemmerring’s gazelles have been known to be migratory, aggregating and moving in herds of hundreds or thousands of animals.

The genus name “Gazella”” comes form the Arabic ghazal, which means “wild goat”, and the Latin –ellus, which is a diminutive suffix.

The Subfamily Antilopinae is an ancient group that branched off from the neotragine ancestors of the Miocene Era (25 million years ago). Remains of a Gazella found at Ft. Ternan, Kenya, have been dated to 14 million years ago. The tribe either originated in Africa or still unknown Eurasian ancestors immigrated at an early date. Existing Asian and African lineages are distinctively different; e.g., females are hornless in 5 of the 6 Asian species. The only species that occurs in both Africa and Asia is the dorcas gazelle.

The Soemmerring’s gazelle has become isolated on Kebir Island in the Dahlak Archipelago, where it has developed a dwarf form. Information on the anatomical, physiological, ecological and behavioral implications of size could be gathered by comparing the dwarf form with the larger race, Gazella soemmerringii berberana, which occurs on the Haud.