Scimitar oryx

CLASS

Mammals

FAMILY

Bovidae

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Oryx dammah

WHERE IS IN THE PARK

Safari

The scimitar oryx is a mammal of the Bovidae family. This species of oryx was once widespread over most of North Africa.
The last wild individuals have been seen in the late 80ies, and the species was declared extinct in the wild in 2000. The decline of the species began in the early twentieth century, so in 1960 started a program of captive breeding ex-situ, that has permitted to maintain about 8,000 individuals in captivity in several conservation programs (2,000 in texas, 2,000 in Europe and 4,000 are estimated to live in the UAE). Three reintroduction programs have been initiated in Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal, where the oryx is still kept under controlled conditions. Several European zoos participate in a captive breeding program aimed at the reintroduction of the species in the wild.

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