Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Gemsbok are the largest species in the genus Oryx. They stand about 1.2 m (4 ft) at the shoulder. [7] [8] The body length can vary from 190 to 240 cm (75 to 94 in) and the tail measures 45 to 90 cm (18 to 35 in). [9] Male gemsbok can weigh between 180 and 240 kg (400 and 530 lb), while females weigh 100–210 kg (220–460 lb).
The gemsbok is monotypic and the East African oryx has two subspecies; the common beisa oryx (O. b. beisa) and the fringe-eared oryx (O. b. callotis). In the past, both were considered subspecies of the gemsbok. The East African oryx is an endangered species, [8] whereas the gemsbok is not. [9]
Six bovid species (clockwise from top left): addax, cattle, mountain gazelle, impala, blue wildebeest, and mouflon Bovidae is a family of hoofed ruminant mammals in the order Artiodactyla.
The body is brown with a lighter-coloured saddle on the back and the rump an even lighter shade. The legs are brown, with a white patch behind the top part of the front legs. Lower legs whitish. Both sexes carry horns, ringed almost to the tip. Female horns are slightly more slender. The neck and the top of the back of the blesbok are brown.
The horns of males are thicker and shorter than those of females (males' horns are 43–66 cm (17–26 in) long and females' are 51–69 cm (20–27 in) long), and have a tighter spiral. Males use their horns during rutting season to wrestle and butt heads with rivals, while females use their horns to protect their young from predators.
Males grow slender, lyre-shaped horns 45–92 cm (18–36 in) long. [17] The horns, strongly ridged and divergent, are circular in section and hollow at the base. Their arch-like structure allows interlocking of horns, which helps a male throw off his opponent during fights; horns also protect the skull from damage.
By the end of the fourth week, the four incisors have fully emerged and about the same time, two knob-like structures, the horn buds, appear on the head. These later develop into horns, which reach a length of 200–250 mm (8–10 in) by the fifth month and are well developed by the eighth month.
The Arabian oryx' coat is an almost luminous white, the undersides and legs are brown, and black stripes occur where the head meets 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 0.61–1.49 m (2–4.9 ft).