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Scientific Name:
Addax nasomaculatus
Size: 1 metre at
shoulder
Weight: 125kgs
IUCN Endangered Species?:
Critically Endangered
Estimated Wild
Population: Less than 200
Distribution: Niger
Description: The
addax is a true desert specialist and is evolved to live in the arid,
Saharan regions of northern Africa.
Specially adapted hooves prevent it from sinking into the sandy
ground and it may be able to survive indefinitely without drinking
water. It finds much of its
water by feeding primarily between dusk and dawn when the cold desert
air significantly increases the water content of the plants it feeds on.
However, its remote existence has not kept it safe from hunters.
With easy access to automatic weapons and off-road vehicles, the
addax virtually disappeared within a few decades and is still decreasing
in number today. Unlike
many other antelope, the sexes are virtually identical and both have the
long, twisted horns although these are longer and more robust in the
males.
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