ARABIAN ORYX BREEDING SUCCESS CONTINUES WITH THE 282ND BIRTH AT THE SAN DIEGO ZOO'S
WILD ANIMAL PARK
JANUARY 14, 2003

Once extinct in the wild, the careful breeding of the Arabian oryx at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park and other U.S. zoological facilities has allowed conservationists to reintroduce this desert specialist to its native lands.

A 10-day-old male calf is the 282th Arabian oryx born at the Wild Animal Park since this species first arrived at the 1,800-acre (728-hectare) facility in 1972. The calf weighed in at 25 pounds (11 kilograms) and can grow to approximately 140 pounds (63 kilograms) as an adult.

Poaching and illegal trade caused its extinction in its native territories in Arabia in the mid-20th century. The Park was one of the conservation organizations involved in the 1982 release of Arabian oryx in Oman. Park officials sent 32 oryx and by 1996 approximately 400 oryx lived in the deserts of Oman.

However, poaching between 1996 and 1999 nearly caused a second extinction, leaving only 100 of these animals in the wild. Still, the Arabian oryx reintroduction has been successful, proving that captive-born animals can reproduce when sent to hospitable native lands. The oryx has continued to reproduce with protection from the governments of its native lands.

The Wild Animal Park has also sent Arabian oryx to reserves in Jordan, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

The oryx calf and the rest of the 15-member herd can be seen in their 5-acre (2-hectare) enclosure when riding the Park's Wgasa Bush Line Railway.