Gemsbok Oryx

Gemsbok, or South African oryx, are the largest of the oryx and among the most striking antelope anywhere: a gray-tan body set off by a black-and-white mask across the face, black bands down the neck, along the belly, and around each leg, a black stripe down the spine to a black tasseled tail, and long, nearly straight ringed horns on both sexes — a cow's longer and thinner, a bull's heavier at the base. Bulls run close to four feet at the shoulder and 300 to 500 pounds. Native to the Kalahari, Karoo, and other dry country of southern Africa, they're built for waterless range, letting body temperature rise to delay sweating, feeding at dawn and dusk when dew is on the grass, and digging a yard down for water-storing melons and roots. Herds average about 14 with a dominant cow in front, calves come in any month, and introduced herds have established themselves in the deserts of the American Southwest.