The Oryx eats grasses, fruit, leaves and lives about 20 years.   They are extremely gregarious, with a distinct reluctance to remain solitary.   During the wet season, they migrate north into the Sahara and return south as the dry season approaches.   Oryx can go without drinking water for weeks (or possibly even months) and they have been observed traveling toward fresh plant growth, apparently being able to detect when rain has fallen many miles away.

Where possible, Oryx dig shallow depressions in soft ground under trees for sheltered resting places.  

The Scimitar Oryx are easily tamed and were domesticated by Ancient Egyptians.   A domestic herd of Oryx is now being run successfully on a cattle ranch in Kenya, but they have become so rare in the wild that countries all over the world are developing breeding programs.   Not only were they hunted for sport, but their very neighbors, natives, hunted them for their sharp horns to be used as spears.