Oryx beisa
Silhouette: Jan A. Venter, Herbert H. T. Prins, David A. Balfour & Rob Slotow (vectorized by T. Michael Keesey) · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% 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 |
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report an East African Oryx sighting in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 4th most-seen of the 13 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 60% of wildlife watchers report an East African Oryx in Mkomazi National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March–April, July and December, the lowest months. That is one of Mkomazi National Park's driest months, with about 20 mm of rain against 150 mm in December. May has too few records to rate.
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.
5th of 7
Of the 7 parks where we can rate East African Oryx sightings, Mkomazi National Park ranks 5th at about 40%. 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 Mkomazi National Park (family Bovidae, Bovids) are Hartebeest (about 50%), Common Eland (about 50%) and African Buffalo (about 40%), 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 Mkomazi National Park (8 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.
