Why is the addax an important animal?

            The addax is a critically endangered desert antelope found in the Sahara Desert in Africa. It is also known as a white antelope.

            This animal has many interesting features and one of them is the ability to change colour of its coat, depending on the season. It could be grey or brown in winter, and sandy or white in summer. The neck and head of these animals is mainly brown.

            The addax is a desert animal that can live in a very harsh climate where no other animals can survive. This also means they have no particular competition for food or water. Under such circumstances how could their population drop to levels as low as to become ‘critically’ endangered? Well, the only answer to this would be human activities.

            The biggest threat these animals face is from people who visit their ranges in vehicles. They kill these slow-moving antelopes. It is said that when a car follows a herd of addax, they desperately try to escape, and later run out of energy, only to get killed.

Picture credit: google