Experiments in domesticating fringe-eared oryx on a Kenya ranch suggest they could be an economic proposition in semi-arid areas, where domestic cattle can only be kept for a few months each year. Oryx have also proved superior to eland, at one time believed to be the most promising wild ungulate for domestication, largely because they feed by day, whereas in this climate eland feed at night, a time when domesticated animals have to be penned to protect them from predators, notably lions.