Oryx

Oryx
Oryx gazella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Family:	Bovidae
Subfamily:	Hippotraginae
Genus:	Oryx
Species
Oryx beisa Rüppell, 1835 Oryx dammah Cretzschmar, 1827 Oryx gazella (Linnaeus, 1758) Oryx leucoryx Pallas, 1766

Oryx is one of four large antelope species of the genus Oryx. Three of the species are native to arid parts of Africa, with a fourth native to the Arabian Peninsula. Their pelage is pale with contrasing dark markings in the face and on the legs, and their long horns are almost straight. The exception is the Scimitar Oryx, which lacks dark markings on the legs, only has faint dark markings on the head, has an ochre neck, and horns that are clearly decurved.

The Arabian Oryx was only saved from extinction through a captive breeding program and reintroduction to the wild.^[1] The Scimitar Oryx, which is now listed as Extinct in the Wild, also relies on a captive breeding program for its survival.^[2] Small populations of several oryx species, such as the Scimitar Oryx, exist in Texas and New Mexico (USA) in wild game ranches. Gemsboks were released at the White Sands Missile Range and have become an invasive species of concern at the adjacent White Sands National Monument.