The Beira is a small antelope

Antelope

Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...

 that inhabits arid

Arid

A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...

 regions of Somalia

Somalia

Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...

, Djibouti

Djibouti

Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...

, and eastern Ethiopia

Ethiopia

Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...

.

The Beira stands 1.5 to 2 ft (0.4572 to 0.6096 m) high at the shoulder and weighs between 20 to 25 lb (9.1 to 11.3 kg). It has a coarse, red-grey coat with a yellow-red face. It has long, 6 inches (15.2 cm) ears and the males of the species have short, straight horns. There is presently a captive-breeding program at the Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation

Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation

Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation is a privately owned wild life preserve in Qatar. The center is home to roughly 2,000 animals and has a staff of 200. It is one of the leading centers for breeding endangered and threatened species, including the Spix's Macaw, Beira antelope, Golden-headed lion...

 in Qatar

Qatar

Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...

. The current captive population is about 35 beira.

The term 'beira' is derived from behra, its Somali

Somali language

The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....

name.