Animal Fact Sheet
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Arabian Oryx
Oryx Leucoryx
What does it look
like?
Arabian oryx are the smallest oryx, measuring four feet high at
the shoulder. Their coats are white with black markings on their
faces, chocolate brown to black legs, and tawny lines across their
flanks.
- Long slender horns,measuring 2.5 to 3 feet in length are nearly
straight
- The oryx's hooves are splayed and shovel-like, adapted for
walking in sandy soils
  
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| Where
in the world?
Arabian oryx's former habitat was the stony, sandy desert regions
of the Arabian and Sinai Peninsula, Jordan, Syria and Iraq. Although
now extinct in the wild, it was reintroduced into Oman in the 1980's.
What are some behaviors?
The Arabian oryx live together peacefully in a linear dominant group,
with all other animals deferring to a dominant bull. Because every
animal has to defend its own food, both sexes bear horns. Males
and females are also similar in body structure, as development of
extravagant secondary sexual characteristics is unnecessary.
During the heat of the day, oryx lie down in
shady ground where their bodies unload excess heat into the cooler
sand. By lying down, less body surface is exposed to drying winds.
Other desert adaptations are their white coats
which reflect the heat. Oryx's body temperatures can rise to about
113 degrees fahrenheit without having to pant, which enables them
to conserve water. As the animal breathes, respiratory evaporation
cools blood on the way to the brain.
What about offspring?
The herd consists of males and females with only the dominant male
mating. Gestation is nine months. |
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What
does it eat?
They feed on various vegetation, eating at night when plants are
most succulent after absorbing nighttime humidity. Oryx receive
most of their moisture from food, and do not have to drink free
water.
Often trekking 25 to 30 km a night in search
of a favorite habitat, oryx ruminate (chew cud) as they walk. If
the herd encounters a patch of good grazing, they switch from ruminating
to feeding at once.
Is it threatened
or endangered?
Prized for their horns and coat, Arabian oryx are endangered. Since
motorized hunting and automatic weapons began in the mid 1940's,
the Arabian oryx became extinct in the wild by 1972.
A few were in private collections in Arabia,
and in the World Herd in the United States. This herd grew out of
Operation Oryx, organized in 1962 by the Fauna and Flora Preservation
society, to ensure the survival of the species in captivity. By
1982, ecological and social conditions in central Oman were stabilized
enough for the release of a carefully developed herd. The long-term
aim is to reestablish a viable population. |
