Since some of ya'll expressed an interest in my last posting on axis deer I decided to try another one. Here is one about a very unique animal, the Addax.
Addax
Phylum: Chordata
Sub-phylum: Vertebrata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Family: Bovidae
Genus species: Addax nasomaculatus ( nasus - the nose, macula - a spot or mark)
Most wildlife biologists that are familiar with the various African antelope species agree that the Addax, pronounced [ad´aks], has evolved as the one best suited for survival in the harsh, waterless desert conditions encountered in the northern portions of the Dark Continent. They can withstand the austere conditions of the sub-Saharan environment and actually live most of their lives without having to drink from traditional water sources. Instead, being herbivorous, they derive sufficient moisture from the coarse plants that they eat, such as grasses, shrubs, bushes and succulents. They apparently possess the ability to detect such sparse desert vegetation at long distances and thus are able to take advantage of all possible moisture to the fullest extent.
During the hot summer months the gray-brown coloration of their winter coat changes to an off white color that has been designed by nature to reflect rather than absorb the almost unbearable heat, thus keeping their body temperatures much cooler than otherwise possible. Along with this color change, the Addax has developed the ability to vary their body temperature thus reducing the need for evaporative cooling. They have also developed broad, flat hooves that are wider than their size would indicate and are well suited for walking on the soft desert sands. The color change, wider hooves, ability to vary body temperature and the lack of needing to replenish their body's moisture requirements in the traditional manner are only a few of the many physical features that make the Addax well adapted to surviving in it's desert habitat.
Addax nasomaculatus is the single species of its genus. They have heavily built reindeer shaped bodies that have short legs and long, lyre shaped spiraled horns on both sexes that can grow to a length of 43 inches. They also have a brown mane, throat fringe and a tuft of dense black hair on the forehead, which resembles a toupee. The males will stand 44 inches at the shoulder while the females will have a slightly reduced stature that will reach 40 inches. Both sexes will have a body length of approximately 60 to 67 inches and top the scales in the 130 to 300 weight class. They are typically found in pairs or in small herds.
The data that has been complied about the Addax is rather sparse because of their elusive nature and the remote location of their habitat. However, it is generally agreed that Addax have a potential life span of 20 years, especially in carefully managed environments. The average gestation period is believed to be 8.5 months or 257 to 264 days, with one calf being born at a time.
As the Addax travel through their inhospitable home they will dig depressions in the sand in which to rest. These are often located partly underneath boulders or other formations that provide meager shade and protection from the wind and sun.
The heavy build of the addax's body structure does not allow them to achieve the great speeds normally associated with the other antelope species, thus making them easy prey for hunters using the advantages offered by hunting from motorized vehicles. This is the favorite hunting method of poachers who hunt the Addax of their meat, skins and horns. Natural predators such as wild dogs, the large cats and other carnivores have also learned to use the Addax's lack of speed to their advantage.
Other factors that have played a major part in the decline of the Addax are habitat loss, political instability, warfare, competition with livestock and the severe droughts that this region of Africa has been experiencing over the last few decades. All of these factors combined have served to reduce the population of this great desert antelope to dangerously low levels as they approach the brink of extinction.
Once these magnificent animals were wide spread across much of their historical range that covered most of northern Africa and quite possibly extended into the Middle East. Today, there are few remaining specimens in the wild with the estimates for the number of these animals varying from 200 to 6,000. Depending on which biologist you choose to believe, their current range is now limited to portions of southern Algeria, western Sudan, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Chad. This habitat tends to be sandy and stony desert that is located far from water. This low population density has led to the Addax being listed as endangered in Appendix II of the international CITIES treaty that deals with threatened or endangered species on a global level.
Like the scimitar horned oryx, the addax has been one of the animals introduced into the exotic breeding and hunting markets here in the US. It can be said that this introduction has resulted in the probable salvation of this beautiful species. If the dire estimates coming out of Africa concerning the wild populations of Addax are to be believed, then the recorded numbers of specimens on the exotic game ranches here in the US, as well as Australia, Europe and New Zealand are encouraging. For example, I know of one ranch in west Texas that boasts a herd of over 1,000 Addax as part of it's exotic species breeding program.
At the present time it believed that there are between 6,000 and 10,000 Addax living on one of these exotic operations. This is good news for the hunter who wishes to pursue these regal animals legally. The proliferation of Addax in these exotic breeding programs has resulted in a surplus of animals that can be legally hunted here in the US, thus providing the sportsman an opportunity that is unavailable anywhere else on earth. These hunts in turn furnish funding back into the breeding/research programs of the breeders that serve to help conserve this and other endangered species further.
Addax make beautiful additions to any big game hunters collection. You can choose to have a full shoulder mount prepared or have a European skull mount done with the skin being made into a beautiful rug. Like all of the antelope family the meat of the Addax is superb table fare. My favorite is butterflied backstrap steaks that have been chicken fried and basted in mushroom sauce. One of the exotic ranchers that I know prefers it cubed and shish-a-bobbed over a bar-b-que pit full of mesquite wood.
One last interesting fact about the Addax before we go. In the bible, in Leviticus 11:3 and Deuteronomy 14:5, Addax are listed as animals having cloven hooves and being able to "bring up" cud, and thus are regarded as a clean animal in a text that outlines key dietary precepts.
