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multiplied into a sustainable herd during the last ten years
or so. Fred’s foresight might have something to do with
the fact that he is a direct descendant from arguably one
of the greatest naturalists that ever lived, Dr William John
Burchell. WJ Burchell was the person who first described
the Burchell’s zebra and other bird, fish, plant and animal
species such as the Burchell’s coucal, tsessebbe, African
wild dog and white rhinoceros, to name but a few.
At birth the golden oryx calves and the common gems-
buck look very similar, displaying a reddish brown colour.
The golden oryx calf, however, has a golden tail whereas
that of the common gemsbuck is a darker, brownish hue.
The trophy hunter can expect to bag a trophy bull mea-
suring from 38 inches to over 40 inches when the animal
is between 2 years and 3 years old. Many bulls and cows
of more than 40 inches have been recorded (the minimum
for Rowland Ward’s record book). The game rancher again
can expect the first calf from a heifer at about 30 months
– not bad considering that these animals have a lifespan
of between 18 and 20 years. The added advantage of
course is that both bulls and cows can be entered into the
trophy record books, unlike sable, black impala and golden
wildebeest.
The Burchell golden oryx that are bred on Daweb Sud
are left to roam free and never get any additional feed or
pellets. The motto there is to breed wild animals that have
to adapt or die. This may seem a tad cruel but it is believed
that wild animals should be bred to be healthy and self-
sufficient. After all, the idea is not to breed “zoo” animals”
and who in his right mind would want to shoot a “canned
antelope”? Allow me to quickly recap. Six different oryx
species are recognised:
The scimitar oryx or scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dam-
mah) is a species of oryx which formerly inhabited the
whole of North Africa. Today it has been classified as
extinct in the wild by the IUCN.
The Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) or white oryx is a
medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder hump,
long straight horns and a tufted tail. It is a bovid and the
smallest member of the Oryx genus, native to desert and
steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx
was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in
zoos and private preserves and reintroduced into the wild,
starting in 1980.
The East African oryx (Oryx beisa), also known as the
beisa[2] occurs in two subspecies, namely the common
beisa oryx (Oryx beisa beisa) found in steppe and semi-
desert throughout the Horn of Africa and north of the Tana
River, and the fringe-eared oryx (Oryx beisa callotis), occur-
ring south of the Tana River in Kenya and parts of Tanzania.
Some taxonomists consider it a subspecies of the gemsbok
(Oryx gazella), but they are genetically distinct (2n=56 for
beisa and 2n=58 for gemsbok).
The Angolan gemsbok o.g. Blainei of Angola. Distribu-
tion: south-western Angola. The overall hue is paler and
greyer than that of the typical gemsbok and the horns
are smaller. It prefers open, dry landscape as well as open
grassveld in semi-desert areas and open savannah. It may
even penetrate open woodland in search of new grazing
areas. Both sexes have horns, with those of the females
being longer and more slender. Males are heavier than the
females. These antelope can go for days without drinking
and may be encountered very far from water. They eat
grass, sometimes also tsammas, succulent rhizomes and
tubers. They also sometimes dig for water in sand.
The gemsbok or gemsbuck (Oryx gazella) is a large Afri-
can antelope of the Oryx genus. The name is derived from
the Dutch name of the male chamois, gemsbok. Although
The Burchell golden oryx – at last there is some
“new” animal for the discerning trophy hunter
and game breeder. These animals have occurred
and evolved naturally and have not been specifi-
cally bred to what we have today.
he Burchell golden oryx is quite different from a
few other “new colour variants” that have been
very popular lately, selling for large sums of
money. It has even been postulated that this is
roughly what the original oryx looked like millenniums ago
and that the rest evolved from the golden oryx. Whether
this can be proved scientifically, only time will tell.
These animals occurred naturally in small pockets in
remote areas of Namibia and some were captured and
brought to the game ranch “Daweb Sud” in the Keet-
manshoop area of Namibia by the Burchell family. Fred
Burchell spent years buying these beautiful antelope in
small selected groups, transferring them to his game ranch
where, thanks to his breeding programme, they have
T
The East African oryx Oryx beisa calliotis The Angolan gemsbok The gemsbok or gemsbuck (Oryx gazella)The Arabian oryxScimitar oryx
BURCHELL GOLDEN ORYX
From Prince of the Kalahari to
King of Southern Africa
Gert J van Niekerk

2. 94 African OutfitterOutfitter February 2011 95African OutfitterOutfitter February 2011
there are some superficial similarities in appearance (espe-
cially in the colour of the face area), the chamois and the
oryx are not closely related.
Now where does the Burchell golden oryx fit in? Is it a
new subspecies, a new species, or just a colour variant? Af-
ter two years of research at the Department of Genetics at
the Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute in Pretoria, South
Africa, we still don’t have an answer. In the meanwhile
SCI has now recognised the golden gemsbok as a separate
entity for entry into their records.
At first it was considered by all and sundry to be noth-
ing but just a new “fad”. Well, that has changed dramati-
cally. These animals breed true – golden oryx on golden
oryx will always produce a golden calf. They also don’t
produce “mixed grills” – golden oryx bull on Kalahari gems-
buck will always result in either a common gemsbuck calf
or a golden oryx calf (see photos below).
Gemsbuck Golden Oryx
But the difference not only lies in the colour. Many
people who have encountered these animals in their
natural environment noticed that the horns seem to be
thicker, longer and more deeply ridged than those of the
common gemsbuck. The horns also appear to be longer at
a younger age. Numerous people have also observed that
on average the golden oryx seems to be heavier than the
common gemsbuck.
Now for the aspect that really sets the golden oryx
apart from the rest of the pact: the live animals fetch a
price of R215 000 per individual; that is what they were
sold for in 2010. That equates to almost 72 common
gemsbuck at R3 000 each. This is where the game rancher
can really reduce the impact on his veld and grazing by 70
times and still get the same return on his capital outlay.
This of course also allows him much more space to run
other game on the same game ranch.
How adaptable are Burchell golden oryx? We believe
the rule of thumb is that if common gemsbuck occur in
a region the golden oryx will also thrive there. They have
been relocated to all the provinces of South Africa (except
KwaZulu-Natal) and have done exceptionally well all over.
One reason that has been put forward for this is that they
don’t come from the sandy Kalahari but from “kalkveld”
near Keetmanshoop.
As Larry Weishuhn said when he hunted the Burchell
golden oryx, “Thanks for introducing me to the most beau-
tiful antelope in the world.”
The Burchell golden oryx has now really come of age
and I foresee a golden future for this hardy and beautiful
animal. They have at last now been spread widely enough
throughout Southern Africa to at least be assured of sur-
vival for future generations to enjoy.
As far as my knowledge goes there are no specimens
of Burchell golden oryx in any local or overseas zoos as of
yet. The same applies to museums except for Dr Sebasto
Museum in the USA which has one specimen.
I personally have had the privilege and honour to
shoot a trophy bull and cow for the research carried out
at Onderstepoort. I had both mounted as full mounts for
my own collection and all I can say to other trophy hunters
is, “Don’t miss out on the opportunity to add one to your
collection. They look awesome!”
My advice to game ranchers is, “Get out your calcula-
tors and do your sums. This is a fantastic investment and at
the same time a very nice animal to have on your farm.”
Total numbers of the golden oryx worldwide are impos-
sible to estimate, but we believe, as do quite a few other
people, that it is the rarest antelope in the world today.
Is this not possibly the greatest discovery in the ante-
lope world in the 21st Century?
For further information visit the website:
www.burchellgoldenoryx.com
Alternatively, contact Dr Gert van Niekerk:
Tel: 043 7321308
Fax: 086 677 9937
Cell: 082 822 7184
Email: gert@isat.co.za
Photographs: Gert van Niekerk and Traudi Riegger