Addax Facts
The Addax (Addax nasomaculatus), is also known as the screwhorn antelope, lives in the Sahara desert and is a critically endangered species of antelope. Today there are only small populations in northeastern Niger, northern and central Chad, Northwest Mali and in the in eastern Mauritania.
The Addax stands about 1 metre tall (3.3 ft) at the shoulder and its weight varies from 60 to 120 kilograms (130 to 260 lb). In the wild the Addax can live up to 20 years, but the life span can be extended under captivity to about 25 years.
The coat is white in summer and in the winter they have a brownish or dark gray color. They have a tuft of brown hair on the forehead and have thin horns, curly in a large spiral with 3 coils (60 to 110 cm for males and 55-80 cm in females). They are well adapted to heat the absence of water and stiff food.
With their crescent shaped and flattened at the base hoofs and large stride, they can easily walk on the sandy soils and stony deserts. They are gregarious animals,living in herds of 5 to 20 individuals (usually 10 to 15), led by a dominant male. The herds are defended even by females.
Addax are mainly nocturnal, particularly in the summer time. During the day they dig holes in the sand in a shady location and rest there, this also helps protect them from sandstorms.
Due to the fact of being a slow animal, the Addax is often an easy prey for many of the african predators like lions, African hunting dogs, cheetahs and leopards.
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Addax Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Subfamily: Hippotraginae
Genus: Addax
Species: A. nasomaculatus
Binomial name
Addax nasomaculatus
