Adax – Animal lexicon
Adax (Addax nasomaculatus)
The light color of the adax coat suggests that he lives in the desert, an arid landscape full of rocks and sand, away from the water.
Class | Mammals (mammals) |
---|---|
Order | Artiodactyla |
Extension | Africa (Originally all of the Sahara, now a small area in Niger) |
Biotope | desert and semi-desert (stony and sandy deserts) |
Food | parts of plants (Herbs, shrub leaves, grass) |
Dimensions | Body length 1.2–1.8 m, tail length 25–35 cm, height at the withers 1–1.1 m, weight 60–125 kg |
Reproduction | Pregnancy 257–264 days, number of pups 1 |
Attractions
It is perfectly adapted to an inhospitable environment. He does not need to drink every day, because he can manage the water contained in the food. In addition, the Adaxes are active at dusk and at night, as they travel through the countryside for food from one island of plants to another; day grass usually resting, hiding in the shade of isolated islets of trees. Wide hooves prevent the adaxes from breaking into the loose ground when walking. Adaxes are grouped into small, tightly packed groups in which males are difficult to recognize from each other – both sexes have spiral horns. The young are born brown and only at the age of a few months do they begin to color as adults.
Protection
Adaxes used to live in almost all of the Sahar, but have shrunk dramatically in the last hundred years and now survive the last few dozen individuals in a small area of Niger. Fortunately, they thrive in zoos, so it was possible to proceed to the gradual return of animals raised in human care back to nature. The Prague Zoo also provided its breeding for these supplies.
Breeding in Prague Zoo
The Prague Zoo has been breeding adaxes since 1979.