RANGE
Africa; Isolated pockets within the Sahara Desert.

HABITAT
Waterless areas, especially dunes.

SIZE
250 pounds

REPRODUCTION
Usually produces a single calf.
Gestation period of 7 1/2 to 8 months.

DIET
Wild: Grasses, desert scrub
Captivity: Hay grain, carrot surprise (carrots, onions & sweet potatoes)

BEHAVIOR

• Live in small groups of five to 15 animals led by a mature male.
• They roam across the deserts and semi-deserts in a continuous search for grazing grounds.
• May go weeks or months without water.
• To protect themselves from strong winds and the sun’s radiation, they dig shallow depressions with their front legs and lie down in them.

POINTS OF INTEREST

• Winter coat is longer and rougher than the summer coat.
• Widely splayed hooves for walking on sand.
• Like all desert animals, the Addax lives on a very thin margin. When nomadic domestic livestock pass through an area, they consume what little forage there is and the Addax starves. Fortunately, they can still maintain themselves in areas where livestock can’t live.

STATUS
Endangered

1. References: Bovids-Addax. The Macmillan Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia. (Macmillan Publishing), 1984; 148.
2. The 24 Species of Grazing Antelope-Addax. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. (Barnes and Noble, Inc.), 1999;571.