Oryx Charges & Nearly Impales Tourist In New Mexico

There's a chance you've never heard of the wild animal known as the oryx. That's okay though, because you'll get to know it pretty well after watching this clip. A tourist in New Mexico almost really got to know this oryx as they were charged by the wild animal. These animals might not look as intimidating as your run-of-the-mill apex predator, but they can still do some damage if they want to. Oryx are one of the larger antelope species and are typically found in desert climates of Africa. The species actually prefers to live in drier areas as they can go long periods of time without needing to consume water. That makes the deserts of New Mexico a perfect place for an oryx to thrive, though they didn't end up there naturally. The animals were actually introduced into New Mexico by the state's Department of Game and Fish in the 1960s and 1970s. They originally released less than 100 oryx into the White Sands Missile Range area, and it's estimated that the population reached 6,000 at one point in time. However, in modern day, the total number of oryx in New Mexico falls somewhere around 2,000. That's because New Mexico residents are allowed to hunt them for sport (that's one of the reasons why they were brought in in the first place) and the Department of Game and Fish like to keep the population controlled. But I wonder what the state of New Mexico is doing to help control the idiotic tourist population? It's tough to find a lot of information on that population study, though it looks like wildlife officials are trusting that the wild animals themselves can handle the tourists. Like what happened in this clip... People visiting the terrain just outside Las Cruces, New Mexico got quite the scare when an onyx charged right at them... and they were kind of asking for it. The National Park Service advises tourists to stay at least 25 yards away from wild animals, and these people weren't even giving the oryx 25 feet. So the wild animal decided it would enforce that distance guideline, and when the time was right, it lowered its head and sharp horns (that are straight as a sword) and ran right at the nearest person. Fortunately, the guy that was attacked was ready to protect himself, so he wasn't gored by the large horns. But it was still way too close of a call... Check it out: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7Fe_kzLn2l/ Just a friendly reminder in case you are still scrolling after the video: Wild animals will always do wild animal things...