ADDAX

Addax Profile

One of the rarest mammals in Africa is likely one you’ve never heard of.

The gentle Addax is an antelope that used to roam the Northernmost

deserts of the continent, but has been tragically reduced to a fraction of its
former glory.

The Addax is also sometimes known as the white antelope and the
screwhorn antelope.

Interesting Addax Facts

1. They’re matriarchal
Addax form medium-sized herds of around 20 individuals. Both males
and females have horns that twist in a corkscrew-like pattern, sometimes
up to a meter long.

Females lead the herd, despite being slightly smaller than males. These
slow-moving antelope are gentle desert warriors, which sadly makes them
an easy target for humans, who have been easily catching them for
thousands of years

2. They are one of the ancient domesticated animals

Around 10,000 years ago, humans domesticated goats. Geese came not
much later, at around 7000 years ago, and from ancient Egyptian artwork
and hieroglyphs, the Addax can be seen as a somewhat domesticated
animal from at least 5000 years ago.

They’re commonly present in the offering rows of Old Kingdom tomb

decorations, suggesting that they were prized animals of sacrifice and that
they weren’t simply objects of the hunt.

This all suggests that they may have been domesticated as early as horses
were before even chickens made it to Egyptian gardens.

3. They’re sandy desert specialists

Like all desert species, the Addax is highly specialised. The desert is a
low-productivity biosphere, meaning there’s not much growing in it, and
this means animals need to build and evolve specific characteristics to
allow them to make use of what they can get.
It’s also hot! And very sandy. So, they need special qualities for that, too.

Addax, therefore, has wide feet, to help it walk on the sandy substrate,
and can dig into the ground when the temperature is too high.

They get most of their water from their food, which is handy. And they
have a very developed system of digestion that allows them to get by.