Facts about Addax
Addax can survive without free water almost indefinitely, because they get moisture from their food and dew that condenses on plants. Addax are able to live far apart, because their over developed sensory powers allow them to locate each other at great distances. The Addax is also known as the screwhorn antelope. It differs from other antelopes by having large square teeth like a cattle and lacking the typical facial glands. There are fewer than 500 addax left in wild, with fewer than 860 in captivity. [2008] Pictures from Egyptian tombs show them being kept as domesticated animals in around 2500 BC. They have two to three twists in their horns. Their horns can reach 80 centimetres in females and 120 centimetres in males. Addax have a strong social structure, probably based on age and herds are led by the oldest male. It lives in several isolated regions in the Sahara desert. Their herds have two to twenty animals, though their herds were of larger numbers in previous times. The Addax stands about 1 meter tall at the shoulder and Its weight varies from 60 to 120 kilograms. Addax are nocturnal: they rest during the day in depressions they dig for themselves. The coloring of their coat varies with the season. In the winter it is greyish brown with white hind quarters and legs. In the summer, the coat turns almost completely white or sandy blonde. Their head is marked with brown or black patches that form an X over their nose. They have a scraggly beard and prominent red nostrils. Long black hairs stick out between their curved and spiraling horns ending in a short mane on the neck. Horns, found on both males and females, have two to three twists and can reach 80 centimetres in females and 120 centimetres in males. Their tail is short and slender, ending in a puff of hair. The hooves are broad with flat soles and strong dewclaws to help them walk on soft sand. The hooves are broad with flat soles and strong dewclaws to help them walk on soft sand. |
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