South Africa/NC: Khalagadi NP – Oryx aka Gemsbok

The Khalagadi Transfrontier Park is famous for its oryx antelopes. Oryx is also know as Gemsbok – is an absolutely stunningly beautiful antelope, with long straight horns and striking black-and-white facial and body markings – can’t confuse them with anybody else. The oryxes are built to thrive in extreme arid conditions of the Kalahari desert! They can survive for days without water and produce very concentrated urine to minimize water loss. They ear dry grasses, roots (they can dig for them), wild melons, and succulent plants, extracting moisture from food. Most interestingly, they can regulate body temperature by allowing its core to rise to 45C (113F), preventing water loss through sweating. They can sprint at up to 60 kmh (37 mph) when escaping predators, and if necessary use their massive straight horns (upto 85 cm / 33 inches long) to fight back and defend themselves. Males also use horns to fight each other as we saw a couple doing.