Addax are a small stocky antelope, both the males and females have impressive spiralled horns. Their horns have two twists and measure between 80-100cm.
Their coat colouration is mainly white during the summer and turns a darker brown during the winter.
Addax are ideally suited to living in the dry environment of the Sahara desert.
They are active at night and spend the heat of the day resting in depressions which they dig themselves in the sand. Unlike other antelope they are quite slow moving, perhaps as a result of their sandy habitat. When they walk they throw their wide hoofed feet sideways to avoid brushing against the opposite leg, placing one foot behind the other and leaving a single line of tracks.
The addax mainly graze on coarse desert grasses, they will occasionally eat leguminous herbs as well as the leaves and shoots of the Acacia tree.
They rarely need water as they gain enough moisture from the food they eat.
The last remaining populations are threatened by poaching and oil exploration. Across their range they are now heavily protected.
