The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder

bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail.[2] It is a bovid, and the smallest member of Oryx genus,
native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild
by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private preserves and reintroduced into the
wildstarting in 1980.
In 1986, the Arabian oryx was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in 2011 it was the
first animal to revert toVulnerable status after previously being listed as extinct in the wild. It is listed
in CITES Appendix I. In 2011, populations were estimated at over 1,000 individuals in the wild, and
6,0007,000 individuals in captivity worldwide.
A Qatari oryx named "Orry" was chosen as the official games mascot for the 2006 Asian
Games in Doha,[3] and is shown on tail-fins of planes belonging to Middle Eastern airline Qatar
Airways.
Contents
[hide]

1 Etymology

2 Anatomy and morphology

3 Distribution and habitat

4 Ecology
o

4.1 Feeding ecology

4.2 Behavioral ecology

5 Importance to humans
o

5.1 Unicorn myth

6 Conservation

7 Gallery

8 See also

9 References

10 Further reading

11 External links

Etymology[edit]
The taxonomic name Oryx leucoryx is from the Greek orux (gazelle or antelope) and leukos (white).
The Arabian oryx is also called the white oryx in English, and is known as maha, wudhaihi, baqar al
wash, and boosolah in Arabic.[4]
Russian zoologist Peter Simon Pallas introduced "oryx" into scientific literature in 1767, applying the
name to the African eland asAntilope oryx (Pallas, 1767). In 1777, he transferred the name to the
Cape gemsbok. At the same time, he also described what we now call the Arabian oryx as Oryx
leucoryx, giving its range as "Arabia, and perhaps Libya." In 1816, Henri Marie Ducrotay de
Blainville subdivided the antelope group, adoptedOryx as a genus name, and changed the Antilope
oryx of Pallas to Oryx gazella (de Blainville, 1818). In 1826, Martin Lichtenstein confused matters by
transferring the name Oryx leucoryx to the scimitar-horned oryx (now Oryx dammah) which was
found in the Sudan by the German naturalists Wilhelm Friedrich Hemprich and Christian Gottfried
Ehrenberg(Lichtenstein, 1826). The Arabian oryx was then nameless until the first living specimens
in Europe were donated to the Zoological Society of London in 1857. Not realizing this might be
the Oryx leucoryx of previous authors, Dr. John Edward Gray proposed calling it Oryx beatrix after
HRH the Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (Gray, 1857). Though this name was to persist for
many years, Oldfield Thomas renamed the scimitar-horned oryx as Oryx algazal in 1903 (it has
since been renamed Oryx dammah), and gave the Arabian oryx back its original name. The
confusion between the two species has been exacerbated because both have been called white
oryx in English.[4]

Anatomy and morphology[edit]

An Arabian oryx stands about 1 m (39 in) high at the shoulder and weighs around 70 kg (150 lb). Its
coat is an almost luminous white, the undersides and legs are brown, and black stripes occur where
the head meet the neck, on the forehead, on the nose and going from the horn down across the eye
to the mouth. Both sexes have long, straight or slightly curved, ringed horns which are 50 to 75 cm
(20 to 30 in) long.
Arabian oryx rest during the heat of the day and can detect rainfall and will move towards it, meaning
they have huge ranges; a herd in Oman can range over 3,000 km2(1,200 sq mi). Herds are of mixed
sex and usually contain between two and 15 animals, though herds of up to 100 have been reported.
Arabian oryx are generally not aggressive toward one another, which allows herds to exist peacefully
for some time.[5]
Other than humans, wolves are the Arabian oryx's only predator. In captivity and good conditions in
the wild, oryx have a life span of up to 20 years.[6] In periods of drought, though, their life expectancy
may be significantly reduced by malnutrition and dehydration. Other causes of death include fights
between males, snakebites, disease, and drowning during floods.[7]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Historically, the Arabian oryx probably ranged throughout most of the Middle East. In the early
1800s, they could still be found in the Sinai, israel, the Transjordan, much of Iraq, and most of
the Arabian Peninsula. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, their range was pushed back
towards Saudi Arabia, and by 1914, only a few survived outside that country. A few were reported
in Jordan into the 1930s, but by the mid-1930s, the only remaining populations were in
the Nafud Desert in northwestern Saudi Arabia and the Rub' al Khali in the south.[2]
In the 1930s, Arabian princes and oil company clerks started hunting Arabian oryx with automobiles
and rifles. Hunts grew in size, and some were reported to employ as many as 300 vehicles. By the
middle of the 20th century, the northern population was effectively extinct. [2] The last Arabian oryx in
the wild prior to reintroduction were reported in 1972.[8]
Arabian oryx prefer to range in gravel desert or hard sand, where their speed and endurance will
protect them from most predators, as well as most hunters on foot. In the sand deserts in Saudi
Arabia, they used to be found in the hard sand areas of the flats between the softer dunes and
ridges.[2]
Arabian oryx have been reintroduced to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, United Arab Emirates, and
Jordan. A small population was introduced on Hawar Island, Bahrain and large semimanaged
populations at several sites in Qatar and the UAE. The total reintroduced population is now
estimated to be around 1,000. This puts the Arabian oryx well over the threshold of 250 mature
individuals needed to qualify for Endangered.[1]

Ecology[edit]
Feeding ecology[edit]
The diets of the Arabian oryx consist mainly of grasses, but they will eat a large variety of vegetation,
include trees, buds, herbs, fruit, tubers and roots. Herds of Arabian oryx follow infrequent rains to eat
the new plants that grow afterward. They can go several weeks without water.[5] Research in Oman
has found grasses of the genus Stipagrostis are primarily taken; flowers from Stipagrostis plants
appeared highest in crude protein and water, while leaves seemed a better food source with other
vegetation.[9]

Behavioral ecology[edit]
When the oryx is not wandering its habitat or eating, it digs shallow depressions in soft ground under
shrubs or trees for resting. They are able to detect rainfall from a distance and follow in the direction
of fresh plant growth. The number of individuals in herd can vary greatly (up to 100 have been
reported occasionally), but the average is 10 or fewer individuals. [10] Bachelor herds do not occur, and
single territorial males are rare. Herds establish a straightforward hierarchy that involves all females

and males above the age of about seven months.[11] Arabian oryx tend to maintain visual contact with
other herd members, subordinate males taking positions between the main body of the herd and the
outlying females. If separated, males will search areas where the herd last visited, settling into a
solitary existence until the herd's return. Where water and grazing conditions permit, male oryx
establish territories. Bachelor males are solitary.[6] A dominance hierarchy is created within the herd
by posturing displays which avoid the danger of serious injury their long, sharp horns could
potentially inflict. Males and females use their horns to defend the sparse territorial resources
against interlopers.[12]

Importance to humans[edit]
The Arabian oryx is the national animal of Jordan, Qatar and UAE.
The Hebrew word reem may refer to the Arabian oryx, although this word could also refer to the
extinct aurochs, or some other type of horned mammal. In the King James Version of the Bible, the
word reem is translated as unicorn.

Unicorn myth[edit]
The mythical unicorn may have originated in part from the Arabian oryx, which can appear to have
only one horn when seen in profile.[13]
An alternative origin of the mythical one-horned unicorn may have been from sightings of an injured
oryx; Aristotle and Pliny the Elder held that the oryx was the unicorn's "prototype".[14] From certain
angles, the oryx may be mistaken as having one horn instead of two, [15] and given that its horns are
made from hollow bone which cannot be regrown, if an oryx were to lose one of its horns, for the rest
of its life it would have only one horn.[14]

Conservation [edit]
The Phoenix Zoo and the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society of London (now Fauna and Flora
International), with financial help from the World Wildlife Fund, are credited with saving the Arabian
oryx from extinction. In 1962, these groups started the first captive-breeding herd in any zoo, at the
Phoenix Zoo, sometimes referred to as "Operation Oryx".[16][17] Starting with 9 animals, the Phoenix
Zoo has had over 240 successful births. From Phoenix, oryx were sent to other zoos and parks to
start new herds.
Arabian oryx were hunted to extinction in the wild by 1972. By 1980, the number of Arabian oryx in
captivity had increased to the point that reintroduction to the wild was started. The first release, to
Oman, was attempted with oryx from the San Diego Wild Animal Park.[8] Although numbers in Oman
have declined, there are now wild populations in Saudi Arabia and Israel,[18][19] as well. One of the
largest populations is found in Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, a large, fenced reserve in Saudi
Arabia, covering more than 2000 km2.[1]

In June 2011, the Arabian oryx was relisted as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. The IUCN estimated
more than 1,000 Arabian oryx in the wild, with 6,0007,000 held in captivity worldwide in zoos,
preserves, and private collections. Some of these are in large, fenced enclosures (free-roaming),
including those in Syria (Al Talila), Bahrain, Qatar, and UAE. [1] This is the first time the IUCN has
reclassified a species as vulnerable after it had been listed as extinct in the wild. [20] The Arabian oryx
is also listed in CITES Appendix I.[21]
On June 28, 2007, Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was the first site ever to be removed from
the UNESCO World Heritage List. UNESCO's reason for this was the Omani government's decision
to open 90% of the site to oil prospecting. The Arabian oryx population on the site has been reduced
from 450 in 1996 to only 65 in 2007. Now, fewer than four breeding pairs are left on the site. [22]

Gallery[edit]

In the western region ofAbu Dhabi

In Zoo Dvr Krlov,Czech Republic

Antelope Ranch, Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve,Israel

See also[edit]

Arabian Oryx Sanctuarya former World Heritage Site in Oman

References[edit]
1.

^ Jump up to:a b c d IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2011). Oryx leucoryx. In: IUCN 2008.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 20 June 2011. Database entry includes justification
for why this species is listed as Vulnerable.

2.

^ Jump up to:a b c d Talbot, Lee Merriam (1960). A Look at Threatened Species. The Fauna
Preservation Society. pp. 8491.

3.

Jump up^ "Mascot of Asian Games 2006". Travour.com. Archived from the original on 16
February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-07.

4.

^ Jump up to:a b "Conservation Programme for Arabian Oryx: Taxonomy & description".
National Wildlife Research Center. 2007. Retrieved 2009-11-15.

5.

^ Jump up to:a b Paul Massicot (2007-02-13). "Arabian Oryx". Animal Info. Archived from the
original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-11.

6.

^ Jump up to:a b "Arabian Oryx". The Phoenix Zoo. Archived from the original on 15 February
2008. Retrieved 2008-01-27.

7.

Jump up^ "The Oryx Facts". The Arabian Oryx Project. Archived from the original on 12
January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-27.

8.

^ Jump up to:a b Stanley-Price, Mark (JulyAugust 1982). "The Yalooni

Transfer".saudiaramcoworld.com. Saudi Aramco World. Archived from the original on 10 June 2011.
Retrieved 31 December 2012.