News items on Arabian oryx

One of the most important objectives in the draft strategy that was drafted in the end of 2004 for the Center is to re-establish self sustaining resident breeding populations of houbara and oryx that protected within the network of appropriately managed sites between which gene flow can occur through natural dispersal.  There have been many constraints to the new management team initially as the proper handover was not given by the RENECO that include research and monitoring datasets of houbara, oryx, and other species and also password of the previous domain name was not given by the previous management that finally lead to registering new domain name (www.arabian-oryx.gov.sa).

Now there has been a significant change in the contents of the website and most of the researcher names mentioned in the text are no longer working with the NWRC.

New Secretary General of NCWCD

In 2006 NCWCD appointed its new Secretary General HH Prince Bander Bin Saud Bin Mohammed Al Saud.  We want to congratulate him for taking over the responsibility of the Secretary General of the NCWCD.  We are sure under his supervision and leadership; our research and conservation efforts will excel in the region and bring back the wildlife as it used to be in 100 years in the Kingdom.

New General Director

In 2006 Mr. Ahmed Boug has taken over the responsibility of General Director of the NWRC.  Mr. Boug is basically a field biologist who studied the ecology and biology of Hamadryas Baboon in Saudi Arabia and has very good experience in managing the research institute.  Congratulations and welcome.Oryx thermal biology.

Al Wudaihi Magazine

NWRC/NCWCD produce a quraterly magazine in Arabic called Al Wudhai (meaning Oryx). The magazine publish conservation related popular articles and news. The magazine is edited by Mr. Ahmed Boug (General Director, NWRC). The magazine is available in most of the book stores in Saudi Arabia.

Captive herd management at NWRC

By the end of 2005, the number of captive Arabian oryx at the NWRC numbered 127 (61 males and 66 females). This represents a decrease of about 34% when compared to 2004 because of low breeding rate, an increased mortality rate among the ageing animals and transfer to Mahazat and Rawdat Al-Kharim, while by the end of 2006 there were 113 (59 males and 54 females).

Oldest living Arabian oryx at NWRC

The oldest living Arabian oryx at the NWRC is a female that reached in its 22nd years of age (21 years, 9 months, 15 days) by the end of 2007. Born on 15 March 1986 and came with the first group of animals from KKWRC, Thumamah.

The oldest living male Arabian oryx in the world was at the NWRC, which was died on 14 December 2003 at the astonishing age of 23 years and 10 months.

Oryx thermal biology

The NWRC’s research on the thermal biology of Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) and Arabian sand gazelle (Gazella subgutturosa marica) has been restarted in a collaborative research project between the Centre and the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, with the aim to extend the research on the thermoregulatory mechanisms employed by the Arabian oryx to cope with the hot hyper-arid environment experienced within the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area.

Rawdat Al-Kharim Reserve

A total of 27 oryx (5 males and 22 females) were transferred from the NWRC captive herd in January and February 2005 to the Rawdat Al-Kharim reserve 80km north of Riyadh.  A group of 10 oryx (3 males and 7 females) and another group of six oryx (2 males and 4 females) were translocated to the farms of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz and Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh respectively.

Oryx in Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area

In 2005 eight oryx (6 males and 2 females) were translocated to Mahazat.   The roughly estimated population of oryx in 2005 was 604 while in 2006 it reached to 614 based on known births and deaths.

The protected area was divided in five sectors arbitrarily and the monitoring system was adapted and focuses on the systematic coverage of the area on a monthly basis and found 96 oryx have collars which were fitted in previous years. More than 40 mortalities of oryx occurred during the summer months.

Status of oryx in Uruq Bani Maarid Protected Area

A group of six (2 males, 4 females) wild-born Arabian oryx were transferred from Mahazat As-Sayd to Uruq Bani Ma’arid Protected Area on 7th May 2006 after a karyotype screening to verify the chromosomal translocation. All animals were identified with numbered tags and fitted with Radio collars.

In 2004 the Arabian oryx population in the area was estimated between 107 and 150 animals.  Due to various logistical constraints this survey was not repeated during 2005 or 2006, although work has started on developing a combination of aerial and ground survey techniques to estimate the population sizes of all ungulates in the area. Estimated population size in 2006 was 173 oryx (CI : 145-208).