[citation needed] The East African oryx stands just over a metre at the shoulder and weighs around 175 lb (79 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.

East African oryx live in semidesert and steppes, where they eat grasses, leaves, fruit and buds.

They gather in herds of five to 40 animals, often with females moving at the front and a large male guarding from the rear.

Radio tracking studies show the solitary males are often accompanied for brief periods by breeding-condition females, so it is probable they are executing a strategy to maximise their chances of reproduction.