The artillerymen, combat photographers and I were waiting to watch the Paladin fire, when, suddenly ...
An oryx appeared out of nowhere — like something out of an M. Night Shyamalan movie.
For about 15-20 minutes, the oryx stood about 20 yards away, periodically nibbling on foliage and curiously looking at us.
The oryx is an African antelope that is non-indigenous to the US.
On average, oryx weigh about 450 pounds and stand about 4 feet tall (not including their 34-inch horns).
Source: National Park Service
The soldiers told me a number of different theories that they'd heard about how the animals arrived in the US.
One soldier said that a film crew brought the oryx there to shoot a movie many years ago, and simply left them out in the desert.
But in reality, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish introduced 95 oryx to the area in the 1950s for large game hunters. Thousands now populate the region.
But, being an non-indigenous species, the National Park Service is concerned about how the animals are effecting the local ecosystem, especially the nearby White Sands National Park.
Source: National Park Service