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29-574: Höchster ("The Highest") is a mountain in the Diamond Restricted Aerea , also called Sperrgebiet , in the southwestern part of Namibia . It reaches a height of 1,070 m. Its expansion is about 5 km × 4 km. West of Höchster are the Klinghardt Mountains . Several places of the mountain range are covered with sand which is blown over by sandstorms. The average yearly rainfall in this area of

58-469: A joint venture between Nicholas Holdings Limited and ENERTRAG South Africa (Pty) Ltd. The renewable electricity generation capacity will be 2 GW until 2026 and 5 GW until the late 2020s. The investment amount lies in the same order of magnitude as the total GDP of Namibia at the time of planning. Nearly 15,000 direct jobs during construction and 3,000 further jobs during operation will be created. More than 90% will be filled by Namibians. According to Raffinetti,

87-513: A potential invasive species in New Mexico. As they are capable of year-round breeding, the transplanted population thrives in the absence of their natural predators, such as the lion ( Panthera leo ), spotted hyena ( Crocuta crocuta ), cheetah ( Acinonyx jubatus ) and leopard ( Panthera pardus ). Except for calves, the oryx is too large to be preyed on by the coyote ( Canis latrans ) and most other major American desert carnivores, since

116-593: Is 1,488 m (4,882 ft). There are 776 types of plants in the Sperrgebiet, with 234 being endemic to southwest Namibia, despite the Orange River being the only permanent water supply in the area. A study has shown that climate change will affect the plant life in the area, specifically in the Succulent Karoo . Drier winters may lead to the extinction of these plants, as they are endemic to

145-623: Is a diamond mining area in southwestern Namibia , in the Namib Desert . It spans the Atlantic Ocean -facing coast from Oranjemund on the border with South Africa , to around 72 kilometres (45 mi) north of Lüderitz , a distance of 320 km (200 mi) north. It extends to around 100 km (62 mi) inland, and its total area of 26,000 km (10,000 sq mi), makes up three percent of Namibia's land mass. However, mining only takes place in five percent of

174-611: Is also present in the Chihuahuan Desert where they are problematic for the local ecosystem. Gemsbok live in herds of about 10–40 animals, which consist of a dominant male , a few nondominant males, and females. They are mainly desert -dwelling and do not depend on drinking water to supply their physiological needs. They can reach running speeds of up to 60 km/h (37 mph). Gemsbok are mostly crepuscular in nature, since temperatures are tolerable and predator detection rates are highest during these times. The gemsbok

203-466: Is desert, thirty percent is grassland, and twenty-eight percent is rocky. Roter Kamm , an impact crater in the southern Namib Desert within the Sperrgebiet, has a diameter of 2.5 km (1.6 mi). The area includes the Tsaus Mountains , Mount Aurus , Mount Heioab , Mount Höchster , the Klinghardt Mountains and the permanent water spring Kaukausib . The highest point of the Sperrgebiet

232-610: Is from the Dutch word of the same spelling, meaning "male chamois ", composed of gems (“chamois”) + bok (“buck, male goat”). The Dutch gems is further from German Gämse ("chamois"). Although some superficial similarities in appearance (especially in the facial pattern) are noticed, the chamois and the oryx are not closely related. The usual pronunciation in English is / ˈ ɡ ɛ m z b ɒ k / . Gemsbok are light taupe to tan in color, with lighter patches toward

261-405: Is generally a grazer but changes to browsing during the dry season or when grass is sparse. It may dig up to a meter deep to find roots and tubers, supplementing its water intake by eating wild tsamma melons and cucumbers , which can provide all the water required (3 liters per 100 kg bodyweight a day). The gemsbok is polygynous , with one resident male mating with the receptive females in

290-661: The African oystercatcher , the black-headed canary , and the dune lark . The Sperrgebiet was designated as a national park in June 2004, and is now named Tsau ǁKhaeb National Park. De Beers still controls the area, but will relinquish control to the Namibian Ministry for Environment and Tourism once a management plan for the park has been completed. It is also a proclaimed diamond area which needs thorough control so as to keep possible diamond theft at bay. In April 2008,

319-623: The Deutsche Diamantengesellschaft ("German Diamond Company"). In 1915, during World War I , South African forces led by General Jan Smuts and Louis Botha , the South African Prime Minister, invaded the country. The South Africans defeated the Germans, taking control of modern-day Namibia, including the Sperrgebiet. The owner of the mine, De Beers , had total control of the area until

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348-539: The Namib amounts to just a few millimeters. The bushes to be found in the mountains just survive because of the mist, which sometimes is formed above the cold Atlantic and then during daytime drifts far into the desert. The few Camel Thorn trees take their water from deep underground accumulations. Sperrgebiet The Tsau ǁKhaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park , formerly known as Sperrgebiet ( German , meaning "Prohibited Area"; also known as Diamond Area 1 ),

377-455: The jaguar ( Panthera onca ) is mostly extirpated from the state, and the reintroduced Mexican wolf ( Canis lupus baileyi ) is too low in population numbers (and all known Mexican wolf populations are over 100 miles away). The species is therefore primarily managed by regulated hunting. However, the only North American predator that regularly takes gemsbok is the cougar ( Puma concolor ); for only one individual, 29 gemsbok were hunted, with

406-417: The pronghorn ( Antilocapra americana ) and the mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ). In addition, gemsbok may spread disease to fellow bovids like the desert bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis nelsoni ). The gemsbok is depicted on the coat of arms of Namibia , where the current population of the species is estimated at 373,000 individuals. In the town of Oranjemund , resident gemsbok wander freely around

435-544: The 1990s, when the Namibian government purchased a fifty-percent stake. They formed a joint partnership called the Namdeb Diamond Corporation. The mining area close to Bogenfels is called "Pocket Beaches" which is one of Namdeb's northern coastal mines. The Sperrgebiet has a diverse range of flora and fauna , due to little human intervention in the area for 100 years. Forty percent of the landscape

464-474: The 500-year-old wreck of a ship named Bom Jesus containing Iberian coins, bronze cannons, copper, and ivory was found in the Sperrgebiet. Under Namibian law, the Namibian government is entitled to all the items found on board. These items will be showcased at a museum in Oranjemund once the museum has been constructed. There are several ghost towns in the Sperrgebiet. Built in the late 19th century,

493-450: The CEO of HYPHEN: "The Tsau ǁKhaeb National Park is among the top 5 locations in the world for low-cost hydrogen production , benefiting from a combination of co-located onshore wind and solar resources near the sea and land export routes to market." Gemsbok Capra gazella Linnaeus, 1758 The gemsbok ( Oryx gazella ), or South African oryx , is a large antelope in

522-524: The East African oryx lacks a dark patch at the base of the tail, has less black on the legs (none on the hindlegs), and less black on the lower flanks. One very rare color morph is the "golden oryx", in which the gemsbok's black markings are muted and appear to be golden. Gemsbok are the largest species in the genus Oryx . They stand about 1.2 m (4 ft) at the shoulder. The body length can vary from 190 to 240 cm (75 to 94 in) and

551-701: The Sperrgebiet, with most of the area acting as a buffer zone. Members of the public are banned from entering most of the area, despite the creation of a national park there in 2004. After the first diamond was found in April 1908 by August Stauch near Grasplatz station, a diamond rush was triggered in German South West Africa . In September 1908, the German government created the Sperrgebiet in its colony in order to make its South West African enterprise profitable, giving sole rights for mining to

580-548: The Sperrgebiet. According to Morgan Hauptfleisch, a scientist who works at the Southern African Institute for Environmental Assessment, the Sperrgebiet "is the only arid biodiversity hotspot and this makes it a very special area". It has more biodiversity than anywhere else in Namibia, supporting animals such as the gemsbok , springbok , and brown hyena . Bird species resident in the Sperrgebiet include

609-586: The best known of these is Kolmanskop . Others include Pomona and Elizabeth Bay . The wind has partially excavated a number of half-mummified bodies at a graveyard outside one of these ghost towns. In 2021, the government of Namibia announced a US$ 9.4 billion green hydrogen project in the Tsau ǁKhaeb National Park. The plant will ultimately produce 300,000 tons of hydrogen, either as pure green hydrogen or in derivative form ( green ammonia ). It will be built and operated for 40 years by HYPHEN Hydrogen Energy (Pty) Ltd,

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638-447: The bottom rear of the rump. Their tails are long and black in color. A blackish stripe extends from the chin down the lower edge of the neck, through the juncture of the shoulder and leg along the lower flank of each side to the blackish section of the rear leg. They have muscular necks and shoulders, and their legs have white 'socks' with a black patch on the front of both the front legs, and both sexes have long, straight horns. Comparably,

667-712: The current population estimated to be around 3,000 individuals. Gradually expanding their range from Tularosa Basin towards the west and northwest, an unknown number of animals are now also established in the San Andres National Wildlife Refuge , the Jornada Biosphere Reserve as well as the endorheic drainage basins east of Caballo Mountains , especially where these are traversed by the Jornada del Muerto trail north of Upham . The inherent biology of gemsbok makes them

696-620: The few antelope species where female trophies are sometimes more desirable than male ones. A gemsbok horn can be fashioned into a natural trumpet and, according to some authorities, can be used as a shofar . Gemsbok are found in arid and semi-arid bushlands in southwestern Africa, especially around the Namib and Kalahari deserts, in Botswana , Zimbabwe , Namibia , South Africa and formerly Angola (where they are considered extirpated ). A sizeable introduced population of several thousand

725-468: The genus Oryx . It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana , Namibia , South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe , mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Namib Deserts , areas in which it is supremely adapted for survival. Previously, some sources classified the related East African oryx , or beisa oryx ( Oryx beisa ), as a subspecies . The name gemsbok is from Afrikaans , which itself

754-604: The herd. The calf is weaned at 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 months, becomes independent at 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 months, and achieves sexual maturity at 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 –2 years in both sexes. In 1969, the New Mexico State Department of Game and Fish decided to introduce gemsbok to the Tularosa Basin , New Mexico , in the United States . Ninety-three were released from 1969 to 1977, with

783-508: The herd. The male is known to secure exclusive mating access to the females by attempting to herd mixed or nursery herds onto his territory. The gemsbok has no specified breeding season, but the young in a given herd tend to be of a similar age due to reproductive synchrony between females. Pregnant females leave the herd before giving birth. The gestation period lasts 270 days and mothers give birth to 1–2 offspring. The calf remains hidden 6 weeks after birth, after which mother and calf rejoin

812-526: The species making up 58% of recorded kills (most consisting of newborns, but some adults were also known to have been killed). Additionally, New Mexico gemsbok seem to prefer undisturbed grasslands for feeding, putting pressure on grassland ecosystems already threatened by climate change and encroachment by shrubs. This fact, along with their larger size and potentially dangerous horns, may cause them to outcompete with and/or put pressure on not only local livestock operations, but native desert herbivores, such as

841-726: The tail measures 45 to 90 cm (18 to 35 in). Male gemsbok can weigh between 180 and 240 kg (400 and 530 lb), while females weigh 100–210 kg (220–460 lb). Gemsbok are widely hunted for their spectacular horns that average 85 cm (33 in) in length. From a distance, the only outward difference between males and females is their horns, and many hunters mistake females for males each year. In males horns tend to be thicker with larger bases. Females have slightly longer, thinner horns. Female gemsbok use their horns to defend themselves and their offspring from predators, while males primarily use their horns to defend their territories from other males. Gemsbok are one of

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