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Animal Size

Scimitar oryx size: How big do they get?

How big does a Scimitar oryx get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:

A grown Scimitar oryx (Oryx dammah) reaches an average size of 1.91 meter (6′ 4″).

When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 20.42 years, they grow from 9.71 kg (21.4 lbs) to 198.4 kg (437.39 lbs). A Scimitar oryx has 1 babies at once. The Scimitar oryx (genus: Oryx) is a member of the family Bovidae.

As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.

The average adult size of a Scimitar oryx is  (6' 4

The scimitar oryx or scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah), also known as the Sahara oryx, is a species of Oryx that was once widespread across North Africa. The species went extinct in the wild in 2000 but a group was released into an acclimation enclosure within the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve in 2016, then reintroduced back into the wild. 21 additional animals were placed in the acclimation enclosure in 2017.The scimitar oryx has a long taxonomic history since its scientific description in 1816 by Lorenz Oken, who named it Oryx algazel. This antelope stands a little more than 1 metre (3.3 ft) at the shoulder. The males weigh 140–210 kg (310–460 lb) and the females weigh 91–140 kg (201–309 lb). The coat is white with a red-brown chest and black markings on the forehead and down the length of the nose. The calves are born with a yellow coat without distinguishing marks; their coats change to adult coloration at 3–12 months old.The scimitar oryx formed herds of mixed sexes of up to 70 members, usually guided by the bulls. They inhabited semideserts and deserts and were adapted to live in the extreme heat, with their efficient cooling mechanism and very low requirement of water. Scimitar oryx feed on foliage, grasses, succulent plants and plant parts during the night or early morning. Births peak between March and October. After a gestation of eight to nine months, one calf is born. Soon after, the female has a postpartum estrus.The scimitar oryx was once widespread across northern Africa. Its decline began as a result of climate change during the neolithic period, and later it was hunted extensively for its horns. Today, it is bred in captivity in special reserves in Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal and on private exotic animal ranches in the Texas Hill Country. In 2016 a reintroduction program was launched and currently a small herd has been successfully reintroduced in Chad.The scimitar oryx was domesticated in Ancient Egypt and is believed to have been used as food and sacrificed as offerings to gods. Wealthy people in Ancient Rome also bred them. The use of their valuable hides began in the Middle Ages. The unicorn myth may have originated from sightings of a scimitar oryx with a broken horn.The scimitar oryx was the emblem of the ancient Egyptian Oryx nome and today is the animal symbol of the Sahara Conservation Fund.

Animals of the same family as a Scimitar oryx

We found other animals of the Bovidae family:

Animals with the same size as a Scimitar oryx

Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Scimitar oryx:

Animals with the same litter size as a Scimitar oryx

Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Scimitar oryx:

Animals with the same life expectancy as a Scimitar oryx

Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Scimitar oryx:

Animals with the same weight as a Scimitar oryx

As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Oryx dammah: