Asmodé J.F. 1990. Food choice and digging behaviour of naive Arabian oryx reintroduced in their environment. Revue d 'Ecologie - La Terre et la Vie 45(3): 295-301.

Summary: Very little is known about the nutritional requirements of the Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx in the wild. To assist the selection of suitable oryx reintroduction sites in Saudi Arabia, a study of the food choice of the Arabian oryx was undertaken at the NWRC. Two naïve animals were placed in a 5 hectare enclosure containing natural vegetation and their preferences recorded. Preliminary observations showed that the Arabian oryx is primarily a grazer, with 65% of its feeding time spent on grasses and 5% on herbs. The remaining feeding time was spent browsing leaves and shoots of shrubs and trees. Oryx ate also the underground portions of four plant species, using their large front hooves to expose the roots or the stolons. The highest rate of digging behaviour was associated with the uprooting of Tribulus macropterus (94% of digging time), a plant which concentrates sodium in its roots. These results suggest that the food choices of these young animals isolated from conspecifics are not random, and that digging behaviour may be an innate behaviour and whereby oryx can take advantage of a source of moisture and minerals untapped by sympatric ungulate species.

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