Life in the Sahara is no cakewalk. The baking sun raises temperatures to more than 120 degrees, howling winds conjure up dust devils and sand storms, and years can pass before a drop of rain falls.

One desert creature is spectacularly adapted to these conditions: the addax, an ethereal-looking antelope with elongated, corkscrew horns. The animals rarely need to drink (impressive considering this is one of the largest mammals in the desert), their flat hooves keep them from sinking in the sand, and their coats turn from brown in winter to white in summer to help cool them down.

But as it’s turned out, there are two things in North Africa that addaxes can’t adapt to: civil war and oil drilling.

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