oryx

Once prized for its horns, this splendid antelope, the Arabian oryx, has been hunted almost to extinction although captive breeding and reintroduction programs seem to have saved it for the moment. It inhabits the dry, stony deserts of Arabia where it is well adapted to survive in the extremely arid conditions.

An oryx roaming the Namib desert, Namibia, southwest Africa. Seen here in profile, only one of its two horns is visible and it is easy to see how the legend of the unicorn may have arisen.

Any of a group of large antelopes native to Africa and Asia. The Arabian oryx (O. leucoryx), at one time extinct in the wild, was successfully reintroduced into its natural habitat using stocks bred in captivity in 1982. By 1998 the oryx reintroduction project was seriously reduced through poaching. The population fell to 138, and 40 animals were returned to captivity as the population was believed to be no longer viable. By January 1999 there were fewer than 100 oryx remaining in the wild and only 11 of these were female. (Genus Oryx, family Bovidae.)

The scimitar-horned oryx (O. tao) of the Sahara is also rare. The Beisa oryx (O. beisa) in East Africa and gemsbok (O. gazella) in the Kalahari are more common. In profile the two long horns appear as one, which may have given rise to the legend of the unicorn.