By Alina Bradford, Live Science Contributor | July 2, 2016 12:12am ET
The addax is a species of antelope. Addaxes are also known as white antelopes and the screwhorn antelopes. They are critically endangered; there may be only three remaining in the wild. Extinction may not be imminent, however; about 2,000 are kept in zoos and on ranches around the world.
Size & description
Male addaxes usually weigh 220 to 300 lbs. (100 to 135 kilograms), and females are about 10 to 20 percent lighter, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. They stand 37 to 45 inches (95 to 115 centimeters) at the shoulder.
Both females and males have long, spiral horns that typically are 30 to 43 inches (76 to 109 cm) in length. The horns have 1.5 to 3 spiral twists, according to the Animal Diversity Web (ADW).
The addax’s long flat hooves are like snowshoes. They keep the animals on top of the ever-shifting sand so they don’t sink.
They have white or almost white coats that keep them cool by reflecting sunlight.
Habitat
The addax once ranged across northern Africa. Today, the only population is found in the Termit & Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This area is part of the Sahara Desert.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!