But this hasn't always been so. Over the last 15 million years, Africa's climate has repeatedly swung from wet to dry and back again as Ice Ages have come and gone.

At times the Kalahari has been much drier than it is today, its sands stretching as far as the equator, linking it with the largest desert in the world--the Sahara.

Covering 9 million square kilometers , the Sahara is so vast, the whole of Australia could comfortably fit into it. It is bleak, inhospitable, and compared to Southern Africa's deserts, very new. Few animals have had time to get to grips with this mighty wilderness, a place where only the hardiest can get by. Scimitar-horned oryx are true desert nomads , wandering for hundreds of miles across the Sahara in search of sparse shrubs. They've lived long enough in other dry regions of Africa to tackle the hardships of this fierce young desert.

Oryx are unusual among antelopes in that females have horns as long as males. They use these formidable weapons to aggressively deter outsiders from joining their group, especially, when food is limited. Scimitar-horned oryx are among a handful of tough African mammals able to cope with the Sahara. Only one other creature is tougher.

fit into:适合
get to grips with : 认真处理
Scimitar-horned oryx：弯角剑羚
deter:to prevent or discourage someone from doing something by making it difficult for them to do it or by threatening bad results if they do it. 阻止，威慑