Goitered gazelles are made for speed. They can run at 60 kilometres per hour for a long time, and even sprint at 80 km/h for a short burst - as fast as a car on a country road. Their bodies are slim, their legs are like springs, and they bounce as they run, leaping over bushes without breaking stride.
The plains they live on are dry and hot in summer, cold in winter, with very few trees. Gazelles eat grass, leaves and a little bit of water from any plants that hold moisture. They can go a long time without drinking from a stream, getting almost everything they need from their food.
They live in small family groups - usually a few mothers with their fawns. The fathers live mostly on their own, except when families gather in larger herds in winter. The fawns are tiny and shy at first; mothers hide them in long grass while they go off to feed, and the babies stay perfectly still until mum returns.
There used to be huge herds of goitered gazelles on the plains of Central Asia and the Middle East. Today their numbers are smaller, but in Azerbaijan they are protected in special reserves like Shirvan National Park. Children visiting the park can see them grazing in the distance, ears twitching, ready to run if anything startles them.