Dubbo Western Plains Zoo

Scimitar Oryx

Oryx dammah

The horns of the Scimitar Oryx are powerful weapons of defence but they must be careful not to break one in a fight as another will not grow in its place.

Hunted to extinction in the wilds of Africa, Scimitar Oryx are being successfully reintroduced into Tunisia in a program being run by European Zoos.

Oryx horns grow about a metre and end in a very sharp tip. So sharp is the tip that some African tribes once used the horn tips to make spearheads.

Scimitar means a curved sword.

Photographs by Justin Sullivan. Some text courtesy of Dubbo Western Plains Zoo

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