Oryx is the name of three kinds of antelope that live in desert regions. They all have light-colored coats that blend in with their backgrounds. They also have distinct dark patches on the face. Oryxes measure up to 3 feet (1 meter) high at the shoulders.
The oryx of eastern and southern Africa is also known as the gemsbok or beisa. The gemsbok and Arabian oryx have long, straight, pointed horns. The scimitar-horned oryx of northern Africa has large backward-sweeping horns. Oryxes have become rare mainly due to hunting.
The Arabian oryx has been brought back from the verge of extinction by extensive captive breeding programs in several countries of the Persian Gulf. One of the first successful attempts at captive breeding was from a herd reared at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona in the southwestern United States. The scimitar-horned oryx has also been bred in captivity and released in the wild.
