Addax

Addax, desert antelope that originally ranged from the western Sahara and Mauritania to Egypt and the Sudan. It now inhabits the southwestern part of the Sahara and is found in lesser numbers across the Red Sea into the Near East. Excessive hunting, severe droughts, and tourist harassment has caused such a dramatic decline in the addax population that it is now endangered. Only one viable population, containing less than 200 animals, still exists in the wild.

A strictly herbivorous, cud-chewing mammal, the addax ranges from 95 to 115 cm (37 to 45 in) high at the shoulder and is yellowish-white in color, with a brown mane and a black patch at the forehead. Both sexes have graceful, ringed horns, wound in an open spiral as long as 89 cm (35 in). Well adapted to the desert, the addax has large hooves for running over sand. By eating succulent leaves and wild watermelons it can live most of its life without drinking water. The addax seeks shelter from the midday sun, sometimes in caves.

Scientific classification: The addax belongs to the subfamily Hippotraginae in the family Bovidae. It is classified as Addax nasomaculatus.