This sturdy antelope is highly adapted to desert living. The addax has shorter legs than most antelope, which gives them a low center of gravity and keeps them steady even on shifting desert sands. Its hooves are broad and rounded for sandy terrain.
Their summer coat is white to reflect the sun’s heat, while their winter coat of darker tan absorbs the sun’s heat.
They are nomadic, following the infrequent rains. They travel considerable distances in search of food. They are principally nocturnal and do most of their eating in the evening, resting during the heat of the day. An addax can obtain all of its water from the plants it eats and by collecting dew off of the plants.
Addax formerly ranged over the entire Sahara Desert of Africa, but four-wheel drive access to the desert and hunting with modern weapons nearly eradicated the species. Other contributing factors were prolonged droughts and regional wars. They are now restricted to isolated populations in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad. In the 1980s captive-bred addax from the Hannover Zoo in Germany and the San Diego Zoo were reintroduced to a park in Tunisia. Being a founding member of the SSP (Species Survival Plan) for addax, Fossil Rim contributed animals in 2007 to the release program as well as completing extensive behavioral and DNA research projects that will benefit both captive and wild addax.
Easily spotted in the pasture by their characteristic dark toupees, Fossil Rim has one of the world’s largest herds of addax. |
