Only 3 wild addax left in the world?

Antelope is on the edge of extinction due to poaching and habitat loss.

Mary Jo DiLonardo

Could these be the last three wild addaxes? (Photo: Thomas Rabeil/Sahara Conservation Fund)

You may have never heard of the addax, but you’d remember if you’d seen one. The critically endangered antelope has a brown-and-white mask and a distinct spiraled horn. These pale creatures with the corkscrews are also known as white antelopes or screwhorn antelope. They have adapted to live in the harsh conditions of the Sahara, but apparently not well enough.

There may now be only three Saharan addax left in the wild. The shocking discovery comes from a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In March, researchers were only able to identify three of the animals in the area they are known to inhabit in Niger. They described the animals, huddled together in a small group, as “very nervous.” Read more.