Scimitar-horned Oryx
Oryx dammah
🫏
Chordata
Mammalia
Artiodactyla
Pecora
Bovidae
Oryx
Oryx dammah
The White Ghost of the Sahara, Oryx dammah, also known as the Scimitar-Horned Oryx, once roamed the great arid expanses of North Africa. Its sweeping, scimitar-shaped horns and pale coat made it a striking figure adapted to the blinding desert sun.
Description
This elegant antelope was perfectly adapted to desert life, capable of surviving without free-standing water for long periods. Its reflective white coat deflected heat, while its long black horns, often over a meter in length, were used for defense against predators and for dominance battles among males. Fossil and rock art evidence show that Oryx dammah was once widespread across the Sahara and Sahel, from Egypt to Mauritania. Today, conservation programs have reintroduced herds into protected areas in Chad, Niger, and Tunisia.
Quick Facts
Max Mass
Shoulder Height
Standing Height
Length
Diet
Trophic Level
200
1.2
1.8
2.4
kg
m
m
m
Mixed Feeder
Herbivores – Grazers
Hunt History
For thousands of years, humans pursued the Oryx dammah across North Africa. Early pastoralists and hunters valued it for its meat, hide, and horns, and later civilizations hunted it for sport and prestige. Depictions of oryx hunts appear in ancient Saharan rock art and Egyptian tomb paintings, revealing a long coexistence—and eventual overexploitation—as desertification intensified.
Archaeological Evidence:
Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria (~8,000 years ago): Rock art shows oryx figures among pastoral scenes.
Nabta Playa, Egypt (~7,000 years ago): Oryx remains found near ceremonial and domestic sites, suggesting ritual use.
Adrar des Ifoghas, Mali (~5,000 years ago): Carvings depict oryx in hunting and herding contexts, marking human dependence on these antelopes.
Time & Range
Extinction Status
Regionally Extinct
Extinction Date
Temporal Range
Region
10000
BP
Late Pleistocene
Africa
Wiki Link
Fat Analysis
Fatness Profile:
Medium
Fat %
6
Est. Renderable Fat
12
kg
Targeted Organs
Hump/backfat, marrow, mesenteric fat
Adipose Depots
Hump/backfat, mesenteric, perirenal; marrow
Preferred Cuts
Hump/backfat & marrow
Hunt Difficulty (x/5)
4