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Cost and Trophy Fees for a Scimitar Horned Oryx Hunt
The average price for an Scimitar horned oryx trophy hunt is between $2,000 and $7,000, though there are more expensive hunts – in the range of $20,000 – for the incredibly rare all-white bull; it’s not an albino, per se, but lacks the brown/red markings of most of the species.
Scimitar Horned Oryx Hunting Season
All year
Trophy Hunts for Scimitar Oryx
The scimitar horned oryx has slender, spiral-horns with a distinctive ridged appearance that curve back slightly for three to four feet – making it an impressive trophy mount for your wall. Many people believe that the idea of the unicorn was born because people saw these animals with one horn snapped off.
Scimitar horned oryx move most during the day, and they’ve been described as diurnal creatures. Because of their ability to withstand a lot of heat, they’ll even rest in the evening and morning, moving most during the very middle of the day, when it is the hottest. This is a tactic they often use to avoid predators and other animals that tend to bed down and sleep in the middle of the day, as they use their bodies’ abilities to cope with heat so that they can travel in safety. Hunters, then, must be ready to hunt at any hour for the best chance to get a trophy.
Physical Characteristics
The oryx stands right around three and a half feet when measured to the shoulder, and the body is about seven to eight feet long. The tail adds another one to two feet of length, though these tails are long and typically hang down, so they don’t appear longer than they really are in the wild. This is a medium-sized animal, weighing in at 300 to 500 pounds, through oryx can be larger.
The coat is specially designed for life in the desert and on the open plains, as it is able to both protect the animal from getting sunburned and to reflect the sun so that it does not overheat. The primary color is white, though some light brown markings will show up. These are heaviest about the throat and neck, where brown can run the whole length. The nose tends to be black, and the horns are darker than the rest of the body. Hair on the throat may typically be brown, but tends toward a reddish tint in many cases.
Origin, Native Habitat and Countries
Though the scimitar horned oryx originated in Northern Africa where it was once a very important captive animal to the ancient Egyptians. They would use it for sacrifices and would also raise it for food, much like cattle. This carried over into the Roman Empire where it became highly valuable in Rome. Today it can also be found in places like Morocco, Tunisia and Senegal.
The best habitat for these animals is an arid place with a lot of shrubs and small vegetation, which they can eat. The deserts and plains of Africa are very similar to Texas, so it has adapted well in controlled environments, where it can thrive. Though they may stick by water sources, they’re more prone to stay close to food sources, as they don’t actually need to drink for nine or ten months on end, if necessary. They also don’t start sweating until they hit about 114 degrees. These animals are well adapted to hot, dry areas.
Behavior/Social Characteristics
The scimitar horned oryx does tend to stick to herds, though they can be as small as two animals. Larger herds will run up to 40 or so. Most often, a dominant male is in charge of the herd as its leader. They are also migratory when given space and incentive to move, and it is believed that migratory herds in the wild would range into the thousands in years gone by. Today, these types of herds are no longer seen.
Within the herd, the males and females will mix fairly evenly. They interact without appearing to care about gender, save for the dominant male. Other males will sometimes be involved in fights, but these do tend to be short and spread out, so these are not thought of as aggressive animals.