A desert antelope with spiraling horns that feeds on grasses and shrubs.
Both sexes have spiraling horns. The coat becomes sandy to nearly white in summer and gray-brown in winter.
Addax have been kept at Prague Zoo since 1979. By the publication of a 2014 paper, 78 young had been born and 27 animals had moved to other zoos.
Births were recorded throughout the year, with a peak in May and early June. Every recorded litter contained one calf. Gestation lasted 255–267 days, averaging about eight and a half months. The most productive female gave birth to 12 young over her lifetime. These are breeding records from addax kept at Prague Zoo.The shortest recorded interval between births was eight months and 23 days.
IUCN Red List (IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group) · Critically Endangered (CR) · Global
The addax is listed as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Its last global Red List assessment was dated 27 April 2016; at that assessment, 30–90 mature individuals were estimated and the population trend was decreasing. A separate IUCN Green Status assessment, assessed in December 2024 and published in 2025, classified recovery as Critically Depleted and gave a Species Recovery Score of 14% (5–19%). Poaching and disturbance from oil exploration are major threats. The addax has been listed in Appendix I of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) since 1979. In Chad, reintroduction and GPS tracking continue: ten addax arrived from Abu Dhabi on 25 October 2025 and were released on 4 November after acclimation. Ongoing anti-poaching work and desert habitat management, alongside monitoring survival and breeding after release, are important for recovery.