On December 11th, 2023, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species announced the scimitar-horned oryx has been reclassified from Extinct in the Wild to ‘Endangered’.
The downlisting of the oryx marks a milestone in one of the most ambitious conservation programs ever undertaken and contributes to putting the Sahara and the Sahel more firmly on the global conservation agenda.
After nine years of the world’s most ambitious species reintroduction program, once ‘Extinct in the Wild’ scimitar-horned oryx now roam freely in the wild in Chad.
A population of 600 scimitar-horned oryx currently thrive in the wild through a ground-breaking effort led by the governments of Abu Dhabi and Chad in partnership with key international organisations.
This is a major conservation success story and has been accomplished in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Fisheries and Sustainable Development representing the Government of Chad, Sahara Conservation, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute (SNZCBI), the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), Saint Louis Zoo and Fossil Rim Wildlife Center.
Information about the Oryx
https://youtu.be/9g-BtwBtia4?si=QlLTMxsJl4yxnQN5
