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1987; Newby, 1988) and to the north the rains begin in September at the earliest (E.Flach,
pers comm.).
Shade is an important factor in modifying scimitar-horned oryx distribution, and at the
hottest times of the day the oryx seek shade in wooded wadis and inter-dunal depressions
to conserve water (Anon, 1987; Newby, 1988). This results in the oryx exhibiting a
crepuscular activity pattern with their peak activity at dawn and dusk when they can be
observed feeding (Anon, 1987; di Croce, pers. comm.).
Scimitar-horned oryx are primarily grazers feeding on a wide variety of grasses and
leguminous plants, but will occasionally take browse and other food resources such as the
fallen seed pods of Acacia tortilis (Dolan, 1966; Anon, 1987). On fresh green pastures
oryx need little drinking water as the vegetation meet their water requirements, but in the
hot season scimitar-horned oryx seek out water rich plants such as the wild bitter melon
Citrullus colocynthis, and will go to great lengths to obtain fresh water even though they
are able to go without drinking for nine or ten months of the year (Dolan, 1966; Anon,
1987; Newby 1978a, 1988).
The oryx evolved a migratory response to cope with the hot season or times of drought,
and in former times these great migrations in search of food and rain numbered thousands
of individuals (Dolan, 1966; Newby, 1978a, 1980, 1988; Barzdo, 1982).
Historically scimitar-horned oryx were subject to predation from a number of large
carnivores including; cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, striped and spotted hyaena Hyaena hyaena
and Crocuta crocuta respectively, wild dog Lycaon pictus and lion Panthera leo. Most
predators have been exterminated from the Sahel thanks to systematic persecution (Newby,
1988) however there are reports that jackals pose a threat to oryx calves in Sidi Toui
National Park, Tunisia (Molcanova, 2004).
Conservation of Scimitar-horned Oryx
Current and former status
The scimitar-horned oryx is listed as ‘Extinct in the Wild’ in the 2004 IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species (IUCN, 2004).
Scimitar-horned oryx is Sahelian in its distribution with its former range extending both
north and south of the Sahara from Mauritania eastwards to Sudan, Egypt westward to
Western Sahara (Dolan, 1966; Anon, 1987; Dixon et al, 1991). In the north of their range,
the oryx would have found themselves geographically constrained by the Sahara and the
Mediterranean, and in all probability were never as numerous as the oryx population south
of the Sahara (Newby, 1978a, 1988). In the east of their range, the Nile made an effective
barrier against dispersal, and to the west, the Sahara runs into the Atlantic. Only to the
south of the Sahara would the oryx have been unencumbered by physical parameters, and
it was there that they could be found in the largest number (Newby, 1988).
Scimitar-horned oryx were formerly widespread throughout the Sahelian zone (Anon,
1987), but successive waves of human occupation constrained their distribution, and their
numbers dramatically declined until they were classified as ‘extinct in the wild’ (Newby,
1978a, 1988; Gordon, 1991; IUCN, 2002).
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