The addax has some amazing adaptations for desert life. Its coat changes colour with the seasons - white in summer to reflect the scorching heat, and grey-brown in winter for warmth. Its wide, spreading hooves act like snowshoes on sand, stopping it from sinking in. And unlike most mammals, it almost never needs to drink water - it gets all the moisture it needs from the desert plants it eats.
Addax are nomadic, travelling long distances to follow rain and find fresh vegetation. They live in herds and communicate with each other through scent marks and body language. In ancient Egypt, addax were depicted in art and occasionally kept by royalty - the Egyptians admired their elegant spiral horns, which can grow to nearly a metre in length.
Today the addax is one of the rarest antelopes on Earth. Conservation organisations in Niger, working with government rangers, are protecting the remaining wild animals and working on careful breeding programmes. If you ever see an addax in the wild in the Ténéré or Aïr, you are seeing one of the rarest sights in nature.