Oryx are well-known due to their very long, striking horns which the males use to fight for mating rights and self-defence. They are 47 inches tall and in the region of 250 pounds to 390 pounds in weight. They are herbivorous and their habitat is almost exclusively dry plains, but they are common around many regions, from Kenya,Uganda and Tanzania all the way up to Ethiopia and Somalia. They can live up to 20 years in the wild, slightly less in captivity. They have many predators, such as lions, hyenas and wild dogs, but luckily the horns can do serious damage to predators if they are not careful. They enjoy a diet that is clever as they will eat plants that collects dew which in turn gives them all the water they need, especially in dry season or desert areas. But it’s also the timing that is especially smart, as they feed from plants either late at night or very early in the morning, because that is when many plants produce 25-40% of their total water content.
Courtesy of Thomas Gerhard/flick