Contents - Marwell Zoo

Conservation measures
Ex-situ
Scimitar-horned oryx have been part of zoological collections since the 1890s, but the
majority of the ex-situ population is descended from a capture of wild animals in Chad in
the mid 1960’s (Rost, 1985; Dixon et al., 1991). These oryx, and their offspring, were
distributed to zoological institutions in Europe, North America, Japan and more recently
Australasia (Dixon et al., 1991). The records of these transactions are incomplete and the
ancestry of many animals is not fully known. In total, the number of wild-caught founders
of the global population is estimated to be less than 40 – 50 (Dixon et al., 1991; Mace,
1986).
On an international level, Europe (EEP), North America (SSP), Japan (JAZGA) and
Australasia (ASMP) have co-ordinated captive breeding programmes for scimitar-horned
oryx, although there are a large number of oryx outside the control of the formal breeding
programmes.
In-situ
A number of projects have taken place in which scimitar-horned oryx have been restored to
fenced protected areas. The first was in Tunisia in 1985 and involved the transfer of 10
oryx from Marwell and Edinburgh zoos, UK, to Bou Hedma National Park (NP) (Gordon,
1991). The population was augmented by additional male oryx from Bratislava zoo in
1999, and today there are approximately 130 oryx in the total protection zone in the park
(Lazah pers. comm., 2005). The Tunisian scimitar-horned oryx population was increased in
1999 when 10 (1.9) and 3 (1.2) oryx were sent from various EEP zoos to Sidi Toui NP and
Oued Dekouk Nature Reserve (NR) respectively (Molcanova, 2003). By 2005, the
population had grown to ~35 individuals at Sidi Toui NP and nine at Oued Dekouk NR.
Tunisian metapopulation management plans were implemented in February 2007 when
eight scimitar-horned oryx (3.5) were translocated from Bou Hedma NP to Dghoumes NP,
close to Tozeur. Between February and December 2007, five calves were born and one
male oryx died, and in December of the same year nine (5.4) oryx from EEP and SSP
institutions were transported to the park bringing the number of oryx currently at
Dghoumes NP to 21.
In 1995, five scimitar-horned oryx were reintroduced to Souss Massa NP, Morocco, and
these were followed by a further two releases in 1996 and 1997. In total, 29 scimitarhorned
oryx have been sent from EEP zoos to the Moroccan National Park (Müller &
Engel, 2003) and by 2006 the population had grown to ~270 individuals (Oubrou, 2006).
In February 1999, Israel donated eight scimitar-horned oryx to the Guembeul Faunal
Reserve, Senegal. These were joined by four more oryx from Paris Zoo, and in January
2003 eight scimitar-horned oryx were translocated to The Ferlo Biosphere Reserve,
Senegal (Gilbert, 2004b; B. Clark pers. comm.). By March 2005 there were 18 oryx in each
reserve (Jebali, 2006).
There have been reports of a transfer of scimitar-horned oryx from UAE to Libya, but
further information on this project is not available. For more information on all the cited
release programmes and other field conservation activities, please refer to the papers and
reports in the bibliography.
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