Scimitar oryxes used to inhabit most or all of North Africa, and now live on only in captivity. They were and are stunningly well adapted to arid and semi-arid territory, but not so much to humans. Even domestication in Ancient Egypt and Rome did not preserve them substantially in the longer run. Scimitar oryxes require little water, which they get mostly from their plant diet. They do their grazing on a wide variety of vegetation at night and in the early morning. Their wide hooves are suited to walking on sandy ground. They rest in the shade of trees where thats available, and dig scoops with their hooves to rest in where there is no shade. Their bodies tolerate and function at high temperatures-- and their kidneys are adapted to prevent water ooos from urination. Scimitar oryxes traveled in sociable herds of up to seventy in the wild, and males and females associate and play together. Males and females circle each other before mating, which typically produce a calf per female per year. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scimitar_Oryx
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 13:27:57 +0000
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