Scimitar oryx
Oryx dammah (Cretzschmar, 1827)
The scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah), also called the Algazel, North African oryx or Scimitar-horned oryx, is a mammal in the family Bovidae, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Hippotragini. It is a large, terrestrial herbivore with a cathemeral activity pattern, and adults weigh 200 kg.
Quick facts about the scimitar oryx
Gestation lasts 247 days, with 1 young per litter and 1.89 litters per year, and sexual maturity is reached at 1.6 years. The IUCN Red List classifies the scimitar oryx as Endangered (EN), a threatened category.
- Weight
- 177.5 kg – 200 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 23.6 years – 27.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- desertsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 244 days – 259 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 18.1 months – 21 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.89src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the scimitar oryx
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Where does the scimitar oryx live?
Not recorded
What is the scimitar oryx?
The scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah), also known as the scimitar-horned oryx and the Sahara oryx, is an Oryx species that was once widespread across North Africa and parts of West and Central Africa. In 2000, it was declared extinct in the wild on the IUCN Red List, but in 2023, it was downlisted to endangered, with a reintroduced population in Chad. This particular oryx is adapted to harsh desert conditions and can survive for months without drinking water. A grazing animal, it derives most of its daily moisture intake from plants.
The decline of the scimitar oryx population began as a result of climate change during the Neolithic period, and later it was hunted extensively for its horns. Today, it is bred in captivity in special reserves in Tunisia, Morocco, and Senegal, and on private exotic animal ranches in the Texas Hill Country, United States. In 2016, a reintroduction program was launched, and currently a small herd has been successfully reintroduced in Chad.
The scimitar oryx was the emblem of the ancient Egyptian Oryx nome and today is the animal symbol of the Sahara Conservation Fund.
From the Wikipedia article “Scimitar oryx” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scimitar_oryx&oldid=1374933934), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the scimitar oryx endangered?
The scimitar oryx is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the scimitar oryx classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderArtiodactyla
- familyBovidae
- genusOryx
- SpeciesOryx dammah (Cretzschmar, 1827)
Synonyms Antilope dammah
Other names and names in other languages (37)
- AlgazelEnglish
- North African oryxEnglish
- Scimitar-horned oryxEnglish
- Scimitar-horned oryxEnglish
- Scimitar-horned oryxEnglish
- SabelgemsbokAfrikaans
- WachArabic
- مها أبو حرابArabic
- Begar al OuachArabic
- Přímorožec šavlorohýCzech
- SäbelantilopeGerman
- Nordafrikanischer SpießbockGerman
- Säbel-AntilopeGerman
- Όρυξ ΝτάμμαGreek
- Orix de CimitarraSpanish
- sapeliantilooppiFinnish
- Oryx de LibyeFrench
- Oryx AlgazelleFrench
- Órix brancoGalician
- ראם סהרהHebrew
- Sabljastoroga oriks antilopaCroatian
- Kardszarvú antilopHungarian
- Oryx dammahItalian
- Orice dalle corna a sciabolaItalian
- シロオリックスJapanese
- 긴칼뿔오릭스Korean
- Kardaragis oriksasLithuanian
- SabeloryxNorwegian Bokmål
- AlgazelleDutch
- oryks szablorogiPolish
- Órix-cimitarraPortuguese
- Órix-de-cimitarraPortuguese
- Сахарский ориксRussian
- Kıvrık boynuzlu oriksTurkish
- Орикс шаблерогийUkrainian
- Антилопа шаблерогаUkrainian
- 彎角劍羚Chinese
Relatives of the scimitar oryx
Other species in the same genus Oryx.
Gemsbok
Oryx gazella
Arabian oryx
Oryx leucoryx
Beisa
Oryx beisa
Fringe-eared oryx
Oryx callotis
Galla oryx
Oryx gallarum
CompareScimitar oryx vs GemsbokScimitar oryx vs Arabian oryxScimitar oryx vs BeisaScimitar oryx vs Oryx beatrix
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the scimitar oryx?
The scimitar oryx is a mammal in the family Bovidae and the order Artiodactyla. It belongs to the genus Oryx, subfamily Antilopinae and tribe Hippotragini.
How heavy is a scimitar oryx?
Adult Scimitar oryx weigh 200 kg, placing them in the large size class. The lowest adult body mass reported by our sources is 177.5 kg.
What does the scimitar oryx eat?
The scimitar oryx is a herbivore. It is a terrestrial animal.
Is the scimitar oryx endangered?
Yes. The IUCN Red List classifies the scimitar oryx as Endangered (EN) in its global assessment, which is a threatened category.
How long does a scimitar oryx live?
The scimitar oryx has a lifespan of 23.6 years, with values up to 27.5 years reported by our sources.
How many young does a scimitar oryx have?
The scimitar oryx has 1 young per litter, with 1.89 litters per year. Gestation lasts 247 days.
When does the scimitar oryx reach sexual maturity?
The scimitar oryx reaches sexual maturity at 1.6 years (594.5 days), with reported values from 1.5 to 1.7 years.
Who named the scimitar oryx?
The scientific name Oryx dammah is attributed to (Cretzschmar, 1827).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scimitar-oryx
“Scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scimitar-oryx.
@misc{scimitar_oryx_2026,
title = {Scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scimitar-oryx},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}