Scimitar Oryx

In 2000, it was declared extinct in the wild on the IUCN Red List, but in 2023, it was downlisted to endangered, with a reintroduced population in Chad.

The scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah), also known as the scimitar-horned oryx and the Sahara oryx, is an Oryx species that was once widespread across North Africa and parts of West and Central Africa.

A grazing animal, it derives most of its daily moisture intake from plants.

Scimitar oryxes are diurnal.

Roadkill, nomadic settlements near watering holes (the oryx's dry-season feeding places), and introduction of cattle and firearms for easy hunting have also reduced numbers.

The decline of the scimitar oryx population began as a result of climate change during the Neolithic period, and later it was hunted extensively for its horns.

A scimitar oryx can live as long as 20 years.

The habitat of scimitar oryxes in the wild is steppe and desert, where they eat foliage, grass, herbs, shrubs, succulent plants, legumes, juicy roots, buds, and fruit.

Reintroduction plans involve fenced-in herds in Bou-Hedma National Park (1985), Sidi Toui National Park (1999) and Oued Dekouk National Park (1999) in Tunisia; Souss-Massa National Park (1995) in Morocco; and Ferlo Faunal Reserve (1998) and Guembeul Wildlife Reserve (1999) in Senegal.

The scimitar oryx once inhabited grassy steppes, semideserts and deserts in a narrow strip of central north Africa (especially in Niger and Chad).

The scimitar oryx was the preferred quarry of Sahelo-Saharan hunters.

The scimitar oryx is a member of the genus Oryx and the family Bovidae.