The Scimitar Oryx (Oryx dammah) is a large ungulate (hoofed) mammal. It is an antelope and a bovid. It is also known as the Sahara Oryx or the Scimitar-Horned Oryx.
The Scimitar Oryx has white fur with a red-brown chest and black markings on its forehead and down its nose. Both the male and the female have large, thin, straight, hollow horns that curve backwards. The female has thinner horns than the male. Its tail has a tuft of hair at the end. Its large, spreading hooves are adapted to living in the desert.
It grows to 100 centimetres (39 inches) to shoulder height, and 140-240 centimetres (55-94 inches) long. Its tail measures 45-60 centimetres (18-24 inches) long. It horns measure 100-120 centimetres (39-47 inches) long.
It was native to North Africa in countries such as Egypt, Chad, Libya, Mali, Niger, and Morocco. It became extinct in the wild in 2000, and zoo breeding programs re-introduced the Scimitar Oryx to its native habitat.
It prefers semi-deserts and deserts in extreme hot and dry conditions. It doesn’t drink much water.
It feeds on grass and succulent (juicy or water-rich) plants. It is mainly diurnal, active during the day. It rests under trees or it makes a depression in the soil and rests there. Its predators include the lion, leopard, hyena, cheetah, jackal, and vulture.
The Scimitar Oryx it is a social animal. It forms a mixed-sex herd of males and females with up to 70 individuals, but usually about 40 individuals. The herd is led by a dominant male, called a bull.
The female, called a cow, is pregnant for 240-270 days, before giving birth to one live young, called a calf. The calf is born with yellow fur with no markings. Its coat changes colour after 3-12 months.
[Location of photographs: Berlin, Germany]
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM