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<b> <font color="blue">safaridude </font> Thanks for the update ! </b> I used to see them regularly (80s to 90s) along the Amboseli Tsavo area, but their very shy behavior indicated a possibility of hunting. Haven't seen any in Tarangire. Tasty: Africans consider Oryx meat as especially tasty – I was told so … And this could be another incentive to hunt them (though I’ve eaten Oryx myself but not poached… Oryx hunted by Maasai: I’d love to get more info. Traditionally, Maasai did not hunt for food, except certain animals which are, according to “ <font color="gray">Maasai </font> (non- Linnean) <font color="gray"> classification </font> ” considered related to cows – e.g. Eland. But there are of course different clans/cultures (some Ndorobo hunters are considered a ‘fringe-clan’ of Maasai & some Maasai even “diverted” to agriculture0 Talking about classification: Up to a few years ago Gemsbok & the East African Oryx(es) were considered one species - <i>O. gazella </i> (so, being pixelpower lawyer I’d say she follows the classical classification…) R.D. Estes in ‘The Behavior Guide to African Mammals’ (a kind of Bible) still treats Gemsbok, Beisa & Fringe-Eared as one species Following “Kingdon and other authorities, including the IUCN, in treating them as two species: the beisa and fringe-eared oryxes as <i> Oryx beisa</i> , called now East African oryx, and the gemsbok as O. gazella. Thus, the East African oryx consists of two subspecies: <i> beisa Oryx (O. b. beisa) </i> and fringe-eared Oryx <i> (O. b. callotis). </i> ” <font color="gray">Interesting: Genetically there are 3 distinct “entities” (clades) within the East African oryx (though we consider them 2 subspecies- Beisa & Fringe-Eared)</font> http://www.springerlink.com/content/54qxxgw173364v67/ Geelong2007 Guess this is one cost of hunting, (though on the other hand it may finance nature conservation) A photo for those who havn’t seen any http://www.fredhoogervorst.com/photo...ock&cid=28 & for those who wish to see the other species: http://www.oryxoman.com/genus.html aby |
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