Ancrenaz M., Ostrowski S., & Delhomme A. 1995. Arabian oryx reintroduction. Gnusletter 14(1): 22.

Summary: The Arabian oryx found its last refuge in the Rub' al-Khali, the great sand desert known as the Empty Quarter, and it was there that the last wild Arabian oryx were shot in October 1972. On 28 March 1995 a group of 18 (9:9) captive-born Arabian oryx bred at the NWRC and a group of 3 (1:2) wild-born animals caught in Mahazat as-Sayd reserve (fenced protected area where a first population of oryx was established in 1990), were released by HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, from a holding pen in 'Uruq Bani Ma'arid, a 5,000 km² unfenced protected area on the south-western edge of the Rub' al-Khali. The re-introduced oryx have been bred at the NWRC, the offspring of founders taken from the World Herd and from private collections in the Middle East. All of the oryx have been fitted with radiocollars, their movements will be followed by light aircraft and by rangers and biologists on the ground.

#2-1995-005