Oryx dammah

Description

This oryx is about 5.5 feet long on average, stands about 3.8 feet high at the shoulder, and weighs 395-440 pounds. It is the only oryx whose horns curve backwards. These horns can be up to 50 inches long, and are present in both sexes. The horns are virtually ridgeless, thin, fairly fragile, and prone to breaking.

The coat is white, with the neck and chest a bright russet. Vertical russet-colored stripes pass through the eyes, and there is a wide reddish stripe down the nose.

Distribution and Habitat

The scimitar-horned oryx is found in small, isolated populations in Niger and Chad. It lives in grassy steppes, semi-desert and desert habitats.

Social Habits

Oryxes usually travel in herds of up to 40 individuals. When food is scarce and concentrated, however, they can form herds of more than a hundred. There is almost always one dominant bull, but other males are allowed to remain with the herd.

Reproduction

Mating may take place at any time of the year, but births tend to peak in March and October.

Males fight fiercely for females. The male and female also spar, head to head with horns crossed, pushing with their heads and moving from side to side, pushing each other round in circles.

One calf is born after a gestation period of about eight months. It can follow its mother within hours after birth, is weaned at 3.5 months, and reaches sexual maturity at 1.5 to 2 years. This species has an average life span of up to 20 years in the wild.

Diet

The diet consists of grasses, herbs, juicy roots, buds, and when water is scarce, fruits and vegetables. Most feeding is done at night or in the early morning.

Conservation Status

The scimitar-horned oryx is considered critically endangered. The herding of goats and sheep in the areas where this oryx lives has greatly diminished the available food supplies.

Scientific Classification

phylum Chordata
subphylum Vertebrata
class Mammalia
order Artiodactyla
family Bovidae
subfamily Hippotraginae
genus & species Oryx dammah

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