Mendes antelope

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Mendes antelope
Mendes antelopes at the Chai Bar Jotvata Breeding and Settlement Center in Israel.

Mendes antelopes at the Chai Bar Jotvata Breeding and Settlement Center in Israel.

Systematics
without rank: Forehead weapon bearer (Pecora)
Family : Horned Bearers (Bovidae)
Subfamily : Antilopinae
Tribe : Horse rams (Hippotragini)
Genre : Addax
Type : Mendes antelope
Scientific name of the  genus
Addax
Laurillard , 1841
Scientific name of the  species
Addax nasomaculatus
( Blainville , 1816)

The Mendes antelope or Addax ( Addax nasomaculatus ) is an African antelope from the tribe of the billy goats (Hippotragini). It was once widespread throughout the Sahara , but is now largely extinct, has only survived in small retreat areas and is considered highly endangered.

features

With their short, yellow-brown to yellowish-white fur, the Mendes antelope is adapted to the color of the desert sand. The top of the skull is dark brown in color, there is a light, X-shaped drawing on the face. Long, beard-like hairs grow on the throat. The hooves are wide and can be spread apart to prevent them from sinking into the sand. The animals reach a head body length of 1.1 to 1.3 meters, the tail is relatively short with 25 to 35 centimeters, the shoulder height is 95 to 115 centimeters. The weight varies between 60 and 125 kilograms. Both sexes have spirally twisted horns that can be up to 110 centimeters long in males and up to 80 centimeters in length in females.

distribution and habitat

distribution

In the past, mendez antelopes were widespread across large parts of the Sahara, but today they are extinct in a large part of their range. They only inhabit isolated areas in Mauritania , Mali , Niger and Chad and sometimes migrate to Algeria and Sudan . Their habitat are sandy desert areas.

Way of life

Mendes antelope with juvenile

Like many desert-dwelling animals, mender antelopes are crepuscular and nocturnal. During the day they rest in sand pits that they dig themselves with their forelegs, often in the shade of rocks or bushes. They are nomadic and roam around in search of food. The herds include five to twenty animals and are composed of a dominant male, several females and their young. Young males form their own bachelor associations.

These animals are herbivores and feed on grasses and shrubs. You don't need to drink water as you get the fluids you need for life through your food.

In winter or spring, the female gives birth to a single young after a gestation period of around 8.5 months. This is initially colored red-brown. It is weaned after three to four months, and sexual maturity occurs at 1.5 years of age in females and 3 years of age in males.

Mendes antelopes and humans

Mendes antelope in the zoo

The IUCN lists the Mendes antelope as " critically endangered ". Because of its meat and skin, the mendes has always been hunted by the locals. This could not, however, endanger the stocks. It was not until the pleasure hunts of motorized vehicles and airplanes that the populations shrank rapidly. Today there are still around 100 mendes antelopes in Niger, 200 in Chad and less than 50 along the border between Mauritania and Mali.

More than 860 animals are in human care, there are also reintroduction projects in Morocco and Tunisia . In December 2007, 22 animals from different zoos were brought to Tunisia.

Terrie Correll from The Living Desert zoological garden in Indian Wells , California , maintains the stud book , which was founded in 1989 by the World Zoo Association ( WAZA ) . In addition, there is a European conservation breeding program coordinated by Heiner Engel at Hanover Zoo , as well as two other national stud books at Werribee Zoo in Australia and in Himeji Central Park , Japan .

In November 2008, 595 mendez antelopes lived in scientifically managed zoological gardens worldwide, 302 of them in Europe. In addition, there are breeding herds in the United Arab Emirates (Al Ain Zoo), Egypt (Giza Zoological Garden) and the USA (Chicago Zoological Park) with a total of 60 more specimens.

The name Mendes antelope is derived from the Mendes ram , a local ancient Egyptian deity. In fact, the Mendes antelope can be seen in ancient Egyptian illustrations, which suggest that it was kept in stables and slaughtered for sacrificial purposes. The origin of the name Addax is unknown, but it is likely to be of African origin.

Systematics

Mendez antelopes
Addax, Israel

The closest relatives of the Mendes antelopes are the oryx , which are also adapted to dry habitats. Together with them and the animals of the genus Hippotragus , they form the tribe of the ram (Hippotragini) within the horned bearers (Bovidae).

literature

  • Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World . Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999 ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .

swell

  • Beudels-Jamar, RC, Devillers, P. & RM Lafontaine (1999): Report on the status and perspectives of a species - Addax nascomaculatus, In: Conservation measures of the Sahelo-Saharan antelopes . UNEP / CMS (eds), 4, 124-142, CMS Technical Series Publication, Bonn.
  • IEA (Institute of Applied Ecology) (1998): Addax nasomaculatus . In African Mammals Databank - A Databank for the Conservation and Management of the African Mammals Vol 1 and 2. Bruxelles: European Commission Directorate.
  • Spevak, E., Gilbert, T., Engel, H., Correll, T. & B. Houston (2006): Returning the addax and the oryx to Tunisia . Communiqué, American Zoo and Aquarium Association, 2006: 13-14.
  • Woodfine, T., Gilbert, T. & H. Engel (2004): A summary of past and present initiatives for the conservation and reintroduction of addax and scimitar-horned oryx in North Africa . Proceedings of the EAZA 2004 Conference, Kolmarden. EAZA Executive Office, Amsterdam.

Web links

Commons : Mendes antelope  - album with pictures, videos and audio files