Oryx beisa
Silhouette: Jan A. Venter, Herbert H. T. Prins, David A. Balfour & Rob Slotow (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%
The East African oryx (Oryx beisa), also known as the beisa, is a species of medium-sized antelope from East Africa. It has two subspecies: the common beisa oryx (Oryx beisa beisa) found in steppe and semidesert throughout the Horn of Africa Somalia and north of the Tana River, and the fringe-eared oryx (Oryx beisa callotis) south of the Tana River in southern Kenya Somalia and parts of Tanzania. The species is listed as Endangered by the IUCN.
In the past, some taxonomists considered it a subspecies of the gemsbok (Oryx gazella), but they are genetically distinct; the diploid chromosome count is 56 for the beisa and 58 for the gemsbok. The East African oryx stands between 0.79 and 1.25 m (2.6 and 4.1 ft) tall at the shoulder and typically weighs between 220 and 460 lb (100 and 209 kg). It has a grey coat with a white underside, separated from the grey by a stripe of black, with black stripes where the head attaches to the neck, along the nose, and from the eye to the mouth and on the forehead. The mane is small and chestnut-coloured; the ringed horns are thin and straight. They are found on both sexes and typically measure 75–80 cm (30–31 in). Comparably, the gemsbok... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Awash National Park | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | |
| 2 | Tsavo West National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 3 | Tsavo East National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 4 | Samburu National Reserve | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 5 | Mkomazi National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | |
| 6 | Meru National Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 7 | Tarangire National Park | 🇹🇿 Tanzania |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Six Flags Great Adventure | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | North Carolina Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Cabarceno Natural Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | The Wilds | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | San Diego Zoo Safari Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Taipei Zoo | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 8 | Haller Park | 🇰🇪 Kenya | |
| 9 | Wildlife World Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Zoo La Barben | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 11 | Burgers' Ocean | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 12 | DierenPark Amersfoort | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | |
| 13 | Zoológico la pastroa | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Mořský svět | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an East African Oryx sighting in Meru National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 21st most-seen of the 22 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February and June
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report an East African Oryx in Meru National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March–May and September–January, the lowest months. Those are among Meru National Park's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain a month against 200 mm in November.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most East African Oryx sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate East African Oryx sightings, Meru National Park ranks 6th at about 30%. The best odds are in Awash National Park (Ethiopia, about 70%), Tsavo West National Park (Kenya, about 70%) and Tsavo East National Park (Kenya, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Bovidae
The closest relatives of the East African Oryx that you can see in Meru National Park (family Bovidae, Bovids) are Waterbuck (about 70%), Grant's Gazelle (about 70%) and Kirk's Dik-dik (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the East African Oryx is recorded against all the mammals logged in Meru National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
