We studied the sex ratio of goitered gazelles in the naturally arid environment of Kazakhstan over a 6-year period. The main methods in our study were taking transect counts and focal observations. The sex ratio of adult goitered gazelles has demonstrated a female bias due to a much higher mortality of males of all ages, especially during years with unusually severe winters. This phenomenon is typical for many polygynous ungulates, as well as other gazelle species. Surprisingly, our data demonstrated monthly fluctuations in sex proportions, along with a bias shift from a female-dominant population during most of the year to a male-dominant population during spring. We discovered, though, that our data did not reflect any real changes in the sex ratio of the population but, instead, revealed the radical changes in behavior of pregnant females before giving birth—hiding from danger in thick shrubs or broken terrain rather than fleeing. As a result, we were not able to see many pregnant females in our spring samples (before birthing), and so received a male-biased population. During the rest of the year (after birthing), females returned to their usual behaviors of fleeing from danger that then gave us a female-biased sex ratio that reflected a more accurate status in sex proportions of the population. So, our results discovered seasonal sex difference in hiding behavior which led to a bias based on visibility.
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