Arabian Oryx reintroduced into Abu Dhabi after 40 year absence.

17/05/2006 00:00:00 Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency (EAD) plan to reintroduce the graceful Arabian oryx back into its natural habitats, (40 years after it was hunted to extinction) is now well underway. ‘This reintroduction is part of a long term commitment to conserve our precious biodiversity. The project will be termed a success when the status of this beautiful creature, in the wild, is significantly improved. Our Terrestrial Environment Research Centre has been releasing these oryxes to create a self-sustaining population that roams freely in our deserts,’ said Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of the Environment Agency.

Over the next four years, 100 captive-born Arabian oryx individuals will be released during the cooler months into suitable habitat in Abu Dhabi. The sites cover a total of 10,000 sq. km and the Agency has already submitted a proposal to the Abu Dhabi Executive Council to declare this area a protected area. Meanwhile, following each release, monitoring of the animals will continue and the Agency’s Desert Rangers will patrol the area.

EAD selected the release sites very cautiously based on several criteria. More than 30 temporary shelters and feeding stations have been installed to provide the oryx with shade and water. This is also done to support the oryxes while they learn to survive in the wild. These shelters and feeding stations will be gradually removed as the oryx learn to depend on its natural environment for survival, as it did years ago in the UAE. According to EAD, the Al Ain Zoo has been a strategic partner throughout the project. The Zoo helped in selecting the release areas, building the fences, transportation of the animals and donating some oryx from the zoo. The Zoo also helped to prepare the oryxs for release, in terms of medical check ups and necessary vaccinations.

Historically, the Arabian oryx roamed in the Nafud and the Empty Quarter (Al Rub’ Al Khali). The northern Nafud population ranged over the entire northern shield of the Arabian Peninsula including the western part of UAE, in the Manasir, Dhafra and Liwa areas, their range extending into the Rub al Khali. The Arabian oryx also had a range covering Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Iraq.

In the early 1960s, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founder of the UAE, arranged, just in time, for the capture of two breeding pairs of the Arabian Oryx for the nucleus of a captive-breeding programme. Hunting and habitat destruction were the main reasons behind the oryx’s disappearance after it had once roamed the Arabian Peninsula.

Today, the UAE hosts the largest group of Arabian oryx in the world with approximately 4,000 of these animals existing within the UAE. Around the world, it is estimated that there are around 6,000 Arabian oryx.

The only other reintroduction project for the Arabian oryx that took place in the region was in neighbouring Sultanate of Oman during the mid 1980’s. Further reintroduction projects into large reserves have also taken place in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.