Hundreds of thousands of magnificent oryx and elegant gazelles once roamed the edges of the Sahara. Now, the scimitar-horned oryx is extinct in the wild due to illegal hunting and lack of a protected habitat. The same fate is about to befall the dama gazelle, with fewer than 1,000 of these animals remaining in the region. And when they’ve vanished, other Saharan animals—including desert cheetahs, addax, fennec foxes, and red-necked ostriches—will likely follow.
With your support, the National Zoo will lead the effort to reintroduce oryx into their natural Saharan habitat and save gazelles from extinction. To get started, we need to raise $300,000. 
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We have much to do to change the fate of oryx and dama gazelles. We’ll start by updating the oryx facilities at our Conservation and Research Center (CRC) in Front Royal, Virginia. We have a thriving herd of oryx at CRC that would benefit from new fencing, barn enhancements, better heating and lighting, and state-of-the-art veterinary tools.
Once updates have been made at CRC, we can focus on the bigger picture of recovering oryx and dama gazelles to the Sahara. We’ll build our antelope herds, increase research efforts, and educate local governments and people about the importance of wildlife conservation. We’ll also create an 80,000-square-kilometer protected area in Chad and Niger where we can conserve endangered Saharan animals.
This winter, a dama gazelle will join the two oryx already living at the Zoo in Washington, D.C. Next year, we’ll begin breeding dama gazelles at CRC for future reintroductions—and to make sure we don’t lose the species forever. We’ll continue to grow our oryx herd—already one of the world’s largest—for the same purpose. In fact, one of our male oryx will join a group of ten animals being reintroduced in Tunisia this winter.
The National Zoo has the experience to help restore oryx and gazelles to the Sahara.
In an award-winning program, Zoo scientists bred and reintroduced hundreds of endangered black-footed ferrets into their native habitats in the western United States. In Brazil, a Zoo breeding and reintroduction program helped maintain and increase the golden lion tamarin population. Once almost extinct in the wild, tamarins are now able to survive on their own. We are confident that with your help, we can make the recovery of oryx and dama gazelles the next great conservation success story. Donate now.
From behind-the-scenes Zoo tours to five-year recognition in the Zoo’s Visitor Center lobby, we offer many ways to thank you for your generosity. More
Help us save oryx and gazelles for future generations and make extinction in the Sahara, well, extinct.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Lamb
Executive Director
Friends of the National Zoo
P.S. Learn more about the Zoo’s efforts to save oryx and dama gazelles!
* Subject to Smithsonian approval.
** Donors will be expected to cover their own travel expenses.
