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{{Short description|Reintroduction of oryx to the wild}}
[[File:Reem-Lavan001.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Arabian oryx at Chay Bar Yotvata, Israel]]
The [[Arabian oryx]] (''Oryx leucoryx''), also called the white oryx, was [[extinct
==Decline of a species==
The Arabian oryx was known to be in decline since the early 1900s in the Arabian Peninsula. By the 1930, there were two separate populations isolated from each other.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabian-oryx.gov.sa/en/history.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904062547/http://www.arabian-oryx.gov.sa/en/history.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-09-04 |title=Historical distribution |access-date=2009-09-25 }}</ref> In 1960, [[Lee M. Talbot]] reported that Arabian oryx appeared to be extinct in its former range along the southern edge of [[Rub' al Khali|Ar-Rub' al-Khali]]. He believed that any oryx still existing would be exterminated within the next few years and recommended that a captive breeding program be started to save the species.<ref name="lee/talbot">Talbot, Lee: ''A Look at Threatened Species''. Fauna and Flora Preservation Society, 1960.</ref> Michael Crouch, then Assistant Adviser in the Eastern [[Aden Protectorate]], drew attention to the fact that each spring, small groups of oryx still emerged onto the gravel plains in the northeast corner of the [[Protectorate]], where he thought a capture attempt would be possible.
==Operation Oryx==
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There were originally four individuals captured and seven donated for this project. The four were captured in [[Aden]] (now Yemen) near the border of Oman by an expedition led by the late Major Ian Grimwood, then chief [[game warden]] of Kenya, with help from Manahil and Mahra tribesmen. One male from this group later died of capture stress.<ref name="arabian/oryx/timeline" /> The seven donated oryx were: one from the [[London Zoo]], two from [[Sheikh]] Jaber Abdullah al-Sabah, and two pairs from the collection of [[Saud of Saudi Arabia|King Saud bin Abdul Aziz]]. One of the oryx from Sheikh Jaber Abdullah al-Sabah died before delivery as well, leaving nine oryx to start the "World Herd."
Five Arabian oryx were delivered to the Phoenix Zoo in 1963 (four in June and one in September). A baby was born to the herd in October 1963 from a conception en route
The breeding program at the Phoenix Zoo was very successful, and the zoo celebrated its 225th Arabian oryx birth in 2002. From [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], individuals were sent to other zoos and parks (including the San Diego Wild Animal Park) to start their herds. Most of the Arabian oryx in the wild today have ancestors from the Phoenix Zoo.<ref>{{cite news| title=Arizona Zoo Saves Rare Antelope From Extinction |author=Lopez, Larry | date=1980-05-31 |publisher=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref>
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===Oman===
By 1980, the number of Arabian oryx in captivity had increased to the point that reintroduction to Oman was attempted from the [[San Diego Zoo Safari Park|San Diego Wild Animal Park]] to Jaaluni in the [[Jiddat al-Harasis]]. The oryx were initially kept in large pens outdoors, but were released to the wild on January 31, 1982, in the Omani Central Desert and Coastal Hills.<ref name="yalooni/transfer"/>
These oryx became the core of the Oman herd in the wild, though there were several other releases of captive bred animals over the next two decades.<ref name="arabian/oryx/timeline"/> The area of their release became the [[Arabian Oryx Sanctuary]].
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===Saudi Arabia===
Organized captive breeding of the Arabian oryx in Saudi Arabia began in April 1986, when 57 oryx from the farm of the late [[Khalid of Saudi Arabia|King Khalid bin Abdul Aziz]] in
Between the initial 1986 founding and 1996, 33 additional oryx (including some from the "World Herd") have been introduced to the founder generation of Arabian oryx at the NWRC. Since 1996, all additions to the population have been through births.<ref name="captive/breeding/saudi"/>
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Reintroduction of a wild population began in 1995 in the [['Uruq Bani Ma'arid|'Uruq Bani Ma'arid Protected Area]]. The reserve covers about {{convert|12000|km2|abbr=on}} at the western edge of the [[Rub' al Khali|Rubʿ al-Khali]] desert or "Empty Quarter". As of 2009, the IUCN Red List estimates the oryx population on this reserve at 160 individuals.<ref name="redlist/oryx/details"/>
A free ranging herd was established in the newly created [[Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area]] in 1989. This {{convert|2244|km2|abbr=on}} fenced reserve is home to reintroduced oryx, [[gazelle]] and the [[houbara bustard]].<ref name="arabian/oryx/project/regional">{{cite web
===Israel===
In Israel the reintroduction program was established in 1978 when four pairs of Arabian oryx were purchased.{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} At this time the IUCN Redbook reported wild populations totaling 90–100 animals in three locations in Northern [[
===United Arab Emirates===
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===Jordan===
The reintroduction project for Jordan began when the Environment Agency
Twenty oryx (12 males and 8 females) were released into the Wadi Rum Protected Area in July 2009.<ref>{{cite web
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}}</ref>
==
{{update-section|date=August 2023}}
In 1986, as a result of the reintroduction efforts, the IUCN re-listed the Arabian oryx from extinct in the wild to endangered. By 2009, the Arabian oryx was protected by law in all areas where it appears.
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<ref name="iucn">
{{cite iucn |author=IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group |date=2017 |title=''Oryx leucoryx'' |volume=2017 |page=e.T15569A50191626 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T15569A50191626.en |access-date=12 November 2021}}Database entry includes justification for why this species is listed as vulnerable.</ref>
<ref name="cites_appendix">
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* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090813120558/http://www.arkive.org/arabian-oryx/oryx-leucoryx/info.html ARKive Web site (Arabian Oryx)] Retrieved 25 September 2009
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140627094911/http://www.iucnredlist.org/ International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List Web site] Retrieved 25 September 2009
{{Conservation of species}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arabian Oryx}}
[[Category:Mammals of Asia]]
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[[Category:Wildlife conservation]]
[[Category:Conservation-reliant species]]
[[Category:Nature conservation in Oman]]
[[Category:Nature conservation in Jordan]]
[[Category:Nature conservation in the United Arab Emirates]]
[[Category:Nature conservation in Israel]]
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