Arabian oryx reintroduction: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:32, 26 December 2019

Revision as of 06:20, 30 December 2019

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==Operation Oryx==

'''Operation Oryx''' was a program of the Phoenix Zoo and the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society of [[London]] (now [[Fauna and Flora International]]), with financial help from the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]]. One of the first captive breeding programs at any zoo, this program had the specific goal of saving and then reintroducing Arabian oryx in the wild.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixzoo.org/learn/conservation_efforts_detail.aspx?ARTICLE_ID=100321 |title=Phoenix Zoo Species Survival Plan |accessdate=2009-09-25 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716113729/http://www.phoenixzoo.org/learn/conservation_efforts_detail.aspx?ARTICLE_ID=100321 |archivedate=2011-07-16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/15/20101115oryx-phoenix-zoo-jordan.html |title=Phoenix Zoo helped saved&nbsp;&#91;sic&#93; oryx |author=McKinnon, Shaun |date=2010-11-15 |work=[[The Arizona Republic]]|accessdate=2011-04-10}}</ref>

The initial plan of the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society was to establish a herd in [[Kenya]] where another species of oryx already lived and flourished. The Kenyan plan was dropped because of an outbreak of [[Foot-and-mouth disease|hoof-and-mouth disease]], and the oryx destined for Kenya were shipped to the Phoenix Zoo instead.<ref name="yalooni/transfer"/>

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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, and another was born in the spring of 1964, bringing the starting population of the Phoenix Zoo herd to seven. The four oryx donated by King Saud arrived at the Phoenix Zoo in July 1964, bringing the population of the "World Herd" to 11.<ref name="colin/tudge">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QILUvAj2oi4C&pg=PA127&lpg=PA126&source=bl&ots=L25oOviOSI&sig=YvyoBJw7rJocBsPsFwrYhllC1C0&hl=en&ei=YBivStT6O8-ylAehhfH8Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false|title=Last Animals at the Zoo|last=Tudge|first=Colin|publisher=Island Press|year=1992|isbn=1-55963-158-9|___location=Washington, D.C., Covelo, CA|pages=126, 127|accessdate=2009-10-06}}</ref>

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>