Arabian Oryx

 The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus Oryx, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private reserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980.

In 1986, the Arabian oryx was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in 2011, it was the first animal to revert to vulnerable status after previously being listed as extinct in the wild. It is listed in CITES Appendix I. In 2016, populations were estimated at 1,220 individuals in the wild, including 850 mature individuals, and 6,000–7,000 in captivity worldwide.

The taxonomic name Oryx leucoryx is from the Greek orux (gazelle or antelope) and leukos (white). The Arabian oryx is also called the white oryx in English, dishon in Hebrew, and is known as maha, wudhaihi, baqar al-wahsh, and boosolah in Arabic

An Arabian oryx stands about 1 m (39 in) high at the shoulder and weighs around 70 kg (150 lb). Its coat is an almost luminous white, the undersides and legs are brown, and black stripes occur where the head meet the neck, on the forehead, on the nose, and going from the horn down across the eye to the mouth. Both sexes have long, straight or slightly curved, ringed horns which are 50 to 75 cm (20 to 30 in) long.

Arabian oryxes rest during the heat of the day. They can detect rainfall and move towards it, meaning they have huge ranges; a herd in Oman can range over 3,000 km² (1,200 sq mi).

Other than humans, wolves are the Arabian oryx's only predator. In captivity and safe conditions in the wild, Arabian oryxes have a lifespan of up to 20 years.^[6] In periods of drought, though, their life expectancy may be significantly reduced by malnutrition and dehydration. Other causes of death include fights between males, snakebites, disease, and drowning during floods.