It is confined to the Horn of Africa, where it inhabits stony brush, grass steppes, and semideserts.[2] This species has been sometimes regarded as a subspecies of the Dorcas gazelle, though this is now widely disregarded.[3] Severe habitat fragmentation means it is now impossible to assess the natural migratory or nomadic patterns of G. spekei.[4] Its numbers are under threat, and despite an increase in population, the IUCN in 2007 announced its status had changed from vulnerable to endangered.