Oryx are beautiful antelope with long, straight, and slender horns. These horns, carried by both males and females, give them the nickname spear antelope.
This is the most specialized oryx species for living in true desert extremes. Its light color reflects the desert heat and sunlight. The oryx can erect its hair on cold winter mornings to capture warmth to hold in its thick undercoat.
This antelope of the Arabian Peninsula and Sinai Desert became extinct in the wild by the late 1960s. Hunters with high-powered rifles had a lot to do with the animals' demise. In 1972, our first Arabian oryx arrived as part of Operation Oryx, an effort to save this species from extinction. Now, almost 400 Arabian oryx have been born at the Safari Park. Many have returned to Oman and Jordan for reintroduction.
