addax

addax
/ad"aks/, n.
a large, pale-colored antelope, Addax nasomaculatus, of North Africa, with loosely spiraled horns.
[1685-95; < L, presumably < some language of ancient North Africa]

* * *

 the most desert-adapted African antelope, formerly found throughout most of the Sahara but nearly exterminated in the wild in the last quarter of the 20th century by poaching from motorized vehicles. The addax's most striking feature is its long spiral horns.

      Male addaxes weigh 100–135 kg (220–300 pounds) and have a shoulder height of 95–115 cm (37–45 inches). Their horns are 76–109 cm (30–43 inches) long. Females are nearly as tall as males and only 10–20 percent lighter; their horns are thinner than the male's but just as long. A stocky build and sturdy, rather short legs give the addax endurance but not speed. It was easily run down on the gravel plains and plateaus that were once part of its natural habitat. The addax's coat is lightest-coloured in summer and smoky gray in winter. The hindquarters, tail, underparts, and legs are white, as are a conspicuous face mask and mouth that contrast with a dark brown forehead tuft and gray muzzle. The throat is covered with a short brownish beard.

      While other antelopes of North Africa—gazelles (gazelle) and the related scimitar-horned oryx—penetrate the central Sahara after rainfall has made the desert bloom, only the addax and the slender-horned, or Rhim, gazelle (Gazella leptoceros) live there in all seasons. Both are equipped with broad hooves that are adapted for traveling efficiently on sand, enabling them to inhabit the extensive accumulations of sand called ergs (erg) that serve as refuges from poachers.

      Other adaptations for desert life are developed to a high degree in the addax, including a highly reflective coat, an ability to extract all the water it needs from plants and to conserve that water by excreting dry feces and concentrated urine, and an ability to tolerate a rise of daytime body temperature by as much as 6 °C (11 °F) before resorting to nasal panting to cool down. In the hottest weather, addaxes rest by day and feed at night and early morning when food plants have absorbed the maximum moisture from the air. The addax employs its short, blunt muzzle to graze coarse desert grasses, and when these are unavailable it browses on acacias, leguminous herbs, and water-storing plants such as melons and tubers.

      The addax once ranged from the Atlantic to the Nile, on both sides of the Sahara. Herds of 2–20 animals were typical, but sometimes the addax migrated and aggregated in herds of hundreds where rain had revived the vegetation. Uncontrolled hunting has reduced the species to ranging in only a few remote areas of sand dunes in the desert. The number of survivors in the wild is estimated at just a few hundred in Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and The Sudan. However, more than 2,000 addaxes are maintained in American and European zoos and on private ranches. The best hope for the species' survival as a wild animal is the breeding of captive animals and their reintroduction into securely protected areas within their old natural range. Efforts to restore populations in Tunisia and Morocco are presently under way.

Richard Estes
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • addax — addax …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • addax — ● addax nom masculin (mot latin) Antilope des semi déserts d Afrique septentrionale et d Arabie, à cornes spiralées, à la robe blanchâtre, menacée de disparition. addax n. m. ZOOL Grande antilope grégaire des confins sahariens, de robe gris clair …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • addax — [ad′aks΄] n. pl. addaxes or addax [L < ?; mentioned by Pliny as being an African word] a large, whitish antelope (Addax nasomaculatus) of the Sahara, with long, twisted horns …   English World dictionary

  • Addax — (Antilope Addax Licht.), eine afrikanische Antilope, welche auf mehreren ägypt. Monumenten abgebildet ist u. für den A. od. Strepsiceros des Plinius gehalten wird …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Addax — Ad dax, n. [Native name.] (Zo[ o]l.) One of the largest African antelopes ({Hippotragusnasomaculatus} or {Oryx nasomaculatus}). [1913 Webster] Note: It is now believed to be the {Strepsiceros} (twisted horn) of the ancients. By some it is thought …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Addax — Addax, Mendesantilope, s. Antilopen …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Addax — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Addax (homonymie). Addax …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Addax — Taxobox name = Addax status = CR status system = iucn2.3 trend = down image width = 250px regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Mammal ordo = Artiodactyla familia = Bovidae subfamilia = Hippotraginae genus = Addax genus authority =… …   Wikipedia

  • Addax — Mendesantilope Mendesantilope (Addax nasomaculatus) Systematik Ordnung: Paarhufer (Artiodactyla) Unterordnung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • addax — adaksas statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Addax nasomaculatus angl. addax vok. Mendesantilope rus. аддакс; аддас; антилопа мендес pranc. addax; addax à nez tacheté ryšiai: platesnis terminas – adaksai …   Žinduolių pavadinimų žodynas

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”