Arabian oryx The
Arabian oryx (
Oryx leucoryx, Arabic: المها), became extinct in the wild in 1972 in the
Arabian Peninsula. It was
reintroduced in 1982 in
Oman, but
poaching has reduced its numbers there. One of the largest populations of Arabian oryxes exists on
Sir Bani Yas Island in the
United Arab Emirates. Additional populations have been reintroduced in
Qatar,
Bahrain,
Israel,
Jordan, and
Saudi Arabia. As of 2011, the total wild population is over 1,000, and 6,000–7,000 are being held in captivity. In 2011, the
IUCN downgraded its threat category from
extinct in the wild to
vulnerable, the first species to have changed back in this way.
Scimitar oryx The
scimitar oryx, also called the
scimitar-horned oryx (
Oryx dammah), of
North Africa used to be listed as extinct in the wild, but it is now declared as endangered. Unconfirmed surviving populations have been reported in central
Niger and
Chad, and a semi-wild population currently inhabiting a fenced nature reserve in
Tunisia is being expanded for reintroduction to the wild in that country. Several thousand are held in captivity around the world. whereas the gemsbok is not. Gemsbok were introduced in
New Mexico by the Department of Game and Fish in the late 1960s and early 1970s as an experiment in offering a unique hunting opportunity to New Mexico residents. Between 1969 and 1973, 95 oryx were released onto
White Sands Missile Range. White Sands Missile Range, located between the cities of
Albuquerque, NM and
El Paso, TX, is a 3,200 square mile US Army facility which also hosts White Sands National Park. Researchers believed that the population would never grow beyond 500 to 600 and would remain within the Tularosa Basin. However, the animals proved to be extremely opportunistic, and quickly spread into the San Andres Mountains to the north and west of Tularosa Basin. At one time, numbers of oryx in New Mexico were estimated to be around 6,000 (original release numbers were less than 100). Today, numbers have been held around the 2,000 mark through managed hunting efforts. The success of the oryx in New Mexico is due in part to the abundance of food. In Africa, they eat grasses, forbs, and melons. In New Mexico, they feed on desert grasses, yucca, buffalo gourds, and mesquite bean pods. They are especially adapted to desert life and can go a long time without drinking water. This area also lacks a way to control the population. Lions and other natural predators cull the population in Africa, with only 10% of calves reaching one year of age. In New Mexico, predators like coyotes and mountain lions are not effective at controlling numbers, allowing the oryx to reproduce without restriction. File:The book of antelopes (1894) Oryx beatrix.png|
Oryx leucoryx File:The book of antelopes (1894) Oryx leucoryx.png|
Oryx dammah
is the only oryx with clearly curved horns, an ochre neck, and no dark markings on the legs. File:The book of antelopes (1894) Oryx beisa.png|
Oryx beisa resembles the closely related
O. gazella, but the latter has an entirely black tail and more black to the legs and lower flanks. File:The book of antelopes (1894) Oryx gazella.png|
Oryx gazella ==Classification==