EAD to reintroduce Scimitar Horned Oryx back in Chad

The reintroduction programme seeks to promote a healthy and sustainable environment for up to 500 Scimitar Horned Oryx over a period of five years, in an isolated natural reserve within the Oadi Rime-Oadi Achim Game Reserve in Chad. Following extensive research, the release area was selected to provide the Scimitar Horned Oryx with the optimal habitat to ensure the prosperity of its population.

The Scimitar Horned Oryx, native to Central and Northern Africa, has been extinct in the wild for more than 15 years due to unregulated hunting, loss of habitat, and lack of resources.

Across the world today, the Scimitar Horned Oryx can only be found in protected reserves, with the UAE being home to over 3,000, the world’s largest single population.

Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of EAD, said: “With the support of the UAE leadership, EAD and the Government of Chad’s efforts to reintroduce this beloved species into the wild, is realisation of the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’s legacy in conserving wildlife and protecting the terrestrial and marine biodiversity in the UAE and across the world.”

Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, Secretary-General at EAD, said the Scimitar Horned Oryx reintroduction programme is a reflection of EAD’s long-term commitment to expand its successful reintroduction programmes.

“EAD, in close collaboration with the Government of Chad and the Sahara Conservation Fund, seeks to ensure a healthy and sustainable environment for the Scimitar Horned Oryx. This is a pioneering project given that the natural reserve will not rely on fenced and closed spaces. The successful reintroduction programme will help remove the Scimitar Horned Oryx from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, Red List of extinct in the wild species.”