The Arabian oryx is a white antelope with dark markings on its face and legs.
Its long horns are straight or slightly curved. Broad hooves help it move across soft sand.
Arabian oryx do not maintain an entirely constant body temperature throughout the day. In free-living animals in Saudi Arabia, the difference between high and low body temperatures was greater during the hot summer. Daily and seasonal changes also occur inside the bodies of these desert animals.
A study published in 2017 examined body temperatures from March 2014 to February 2015. Researchers implanted temperature loggers in twenty Arabian oryx and released ten into each of two Saudi protected areas: a rocky desert and the western edge of the Rub al Khali, or Empty Quarter. Equipment failure and other losses meant that records were ultimately analysed from eight and six animals. Across the animals, the mean daily difference between maximum and minimum body temperature was about 2.1°C in winter and 3.4°C in summer. Yet annual mean daily temperature variation was smaller in the more arid site. The researchers suggest that shade use, activity timing and the effects of relocation might contribute. Local conditions and behaviour interact with seasonal patterns even within this desert-adapted species.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
Al Ain Zoo in Abu Dhabi manages Arabian oryx breeding and provides animals for reintroduction. A March 2024 government report stated that the zoo had donated more than 100 Arabian oryx to local and regional reintroduction projects. DNA analyses, animal exchanges and genetic studies support improvements in breeding management. The programme links managed breeding and genetic information with efforts to restore animals to their former habitats.