to be present along the Mali/Mauritania border, though there have been no confirmed sightings. The addax was once abundant in North Africa, native to Chad, Mauritania and Niger. It is extinct in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Sudan and the Western Sahara. It has been reintroduced into Morocco and Tunisia. Threats and conservation Declines in the population of the addax have been ongoing since the mid-1800s. More recently, addaxes were found from Algeria to Sudan, but due mainly to overhunting, they have become much more restricted and rare. Addaxes are easy to hunt due to their slow movements. Roadkill, firearms for easy hunting and nomadic settlements near waterholes (their dry-season feeding places) have also decreased their numbers. Moreover, their meat and leather are highly prized. Other threats include chronic droughts in the deserts, habitat destruction due to more human settlements and agriculture. Fewer than 500 individuals are thought to exist in the wild today, most of the animals being found between the Termit area of Niger, the Bodélé region of western Chad, and the Aoukar in Mauritania. Today there are over 600 addaxes in Europe, Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve (Israel), Sabratha (Libya), Giza Zoo (Egypt), North America, Japan and Australia under captive breeding programmes. There are thousands more in private collections and ranches in the United States and the Middle East. Addaxes are legally protected in Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria; hunting of all gazelles is forbidden in Libya and Egypt. Although enormous reserves, such as the Hoggar Mountains and Tasilli in Algeria, the Ténéré in Niger, the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve in Chad, and the newly established Wadi Howar National Park in Sudan, cover areas where the addax previously occurred, some do not keep addaxes at the present time because they lack the resources. The addax has been reintroduced into Bou-Hedma National Park (Tunisia) and Souss-Massa National Park (Morocco). Reintroductions in the wild are ongoing in Jebil National Park (Tunisia) and Grand Erg Oriental (the Sahara), and another is planned for Morocco. References External links Grazing antelopes Fauna of the Sahara Mammals of Chad Mammals of West Africa Mammals of North Africa Mammals described in 1816