EAD leads the way in returning this indigenous animal - that almost went extinct - back into the wild

Big brown eyes ringed with long lashes look up at me suddenly, but after a quick moment the alarm dissolves into disinterest. Today the youngest of the newborn Oryx calves at the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort (AWPR) feels safe within her herd but just a few years ago, she would have had every reason to run for her life at the first hint of trouble.

“The Oryx, like a lot of desert antelopes, has gone through a catastrophic population crash that resulted from historic over grazing and competition with livestock and then the final blow was automatic weapons,” says Dr Michael Maunder, Chief of Conservation Strategy Development at AWPR.

Part of what makes the Arabian Oryx so vulnerable is the nature of the beast. Weighing around 100 kg and standing nearly one metre high, this antelope is one of the largest desert mammals in the Arab region. Its size coupled with its pure white fur makes the Oryx an easy target for hunters. And while the Oryx is famous for its stamina, it lacks speed – making it vulnerable to predators.

With all the international media attention focused on the efforts at Masdar, you might think environmental protection is something new to the UAE, but the nation has actually led the GCC in animal conservation.

“By the 1960s, the Oryx was on its last legs,” says Maunder. “Several animals were caught in Oman and sent to the San Diego Zoo in California, USA, for breeding. In parallel, the sheikhs here in the UAE set up their own breeding programmes and carried on breeding and producing a number of very important herds.”

The late president Sheikh Zayed, in fact, was taking visionary measures in conservation from the dawn of the nation. According to the UAE government portal www.abudhabi.ae, the last four Oryx surviving in the wild were captured and placed in a protected breeding programme in 1968 at what was then the Al Ain Zoo.

“It was one of the reasons [the original zoo] was established,” says Maunder. That group of four has since grown to a herd of over 170 animals.

One of the most important conservation initiatives happening in the UAE is an extensive project improving the genetic diversity of the Oryx population by breeding the genetically different animals that went to San Diego so many years ago with those that remained here.

“Bringing those two strands together is really ensuring the future for the wild herd,” says Maunder.

“The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD) deserves full credit for the regional coordination of this project – they’ve really shown leadership and are doing a fantastic job.”

In addition to achieving a positive genetic mix, the UAE is also home to an ambitious five-year plan to reintroduce the Arabian Oryx to the wild. Overseen by EAD, the release project aims to see a self-contained population of wild Oryx grow organically in its natural habitat under the watchful eye of long-term management.

Many of the animals set for release next year will come from the growing herd on Sir Bani Yas Island, a sanctuary created by the late Sheikh Zayed that is now home to the Arabian Wildlife Park and its own extensive breeding programme.

“From a handful of animals, the herd on Sir Bani Yas Island has grown to a herd of around 450 Arabian Oryx,” says Marius Prinsloo, Senior Manager of Conservation and Botany at Sir Bani Yas Island, Desert Islands.

“We’re working with EAD on the Arabian Oryx release project – 20 males and 40 females were donated to the programme in 2006.

Another group of eight pregnant females was donated in 2008 and in March 2011 we sent 19 females to join the breeding programme initiated by the EAD.”

Where are these animals going? To reintroduction sites like the Arabian Oryx Protected Area in Umm Al Zamool, a region of the Empty Quarter stretching around 8000 square kilometres, currently home to over 250 freely roaming Oryx.

The long term prospects for returning the Arabian Oryx to the wild look promising. The animals are first bred in captivity then vaccinated. Blood samples are taken for DNA analysis before the animals are gradually released into increasingly larger enclosures until they are eventually freely ranging.

“By 2012, we should be able to throw open the gates and let the animals go back into a very large reserve that has been created for the Oryx in the Empty Quarter,” says Prinsloo.

“Once the Oryx are released they are overseen by EAD – we tag all animals leaving the island as well as implanting a micro-chip. The EAD will also fit some of the Oryx with GSM/GPS collars that will allow them to continuously monitor their movements.”

This new herd can expect to thrive under the watchful eye of the Coordinating Committee for the Conservation of the Arabian Oryx.

This multinational governing body headed up by EAD includes the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Iraq, all of which are historic homes of the Arabian Oryx.

From the successful rescue of those last four wild animals, the future now looks bright for the Arabian Oryx. If you’d like to check out these majestic animals for yourself, make plans to visit the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort (www.awpr.ae) or the Arabian Wildlife Park on Sir Bani Yas Island (www.desertislands.com).

Laura Fulton