Wildlife

Reintroduction

The reintroduction of the Arabian Oryx for the first time in Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area in central Saudi Arabia

The Mahazat Al-Sayd Protected Area, with an area of about 2553 square kilometers, was chosen to be the first site for reintroduction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Protected Area is about 160 kilometers northeast of al-Taif. The average annual rainfall is less than 100 mm. In summer, the temperature often exceeds 45 ° C. The area was completely fenced in 1989, and domesticated pastoral animals were kept away from it. The first studies carried out at the protected area site were to monitor the state of vegetation cover after protection. The steady growth of vegetation after conservation has encouraged the continuation of the reintroduction program in Mahazat as-Said Protected Area.

Oryx transfer

Between 1990 and 1993, 38 Arabian oryx from private and governmental herds were transferred from outside the Kingdom, in addition to 34 Arabian oryx, who were selected from the group that were bred under captivity at the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Center for Wildlife Research in al-Taif, to the Mahazat Al-Sayd Protected Area. The animals were released in pre-launch fences of 200 hectares, acclimatization of these individuals to the new environmental conditions in the reserve was observed. It was observed that all individuals rapidly adapted in the introductory fences. Then the animals were launched within the boundaries of the Protected Area.

Monitoring of the reintroduced herd

The rangers under the supervision of the manager of the protected area made accurate and daily monitoring of all herd members between 1990 - 1992, and with the increase in the herd number and its wide spread in small groups, the daily accurate monitoring of all individuals made the process of accurate daily monitoring of all individuals a difficult process. Since 1995 AD, methods of surveying and counting longitudinal samples have been used. The number of oryx reached 400, and between 1998 and 1999 - due to the drought conditions, the number of oryx decreased to between 350 - 400 animals. The number of the herd increased again after the fall of good rains in 2001-2002 and the flowering of vegetation. The number of oryx reached about 500 heads.

Due to the fencing of the area, the factors of migration or predation by natural enemies were not determinants of the growth of the herd of oryx. A computer model has been prepared to assess the probability of the oryx becoming extinct from hunting under various administrative and operational plans. It became clear that the most successful of these plans are those that take into account the removal of numbers that exceed 70% of the grazing capacity of the Protected Area. Using this method, a sudden fluctuation in herd numbers can be avoided and the size of the Arabian Oryx herd in Mahazat as-Said can be kept within the limits desired and permitted.

The return of the Arabian Oryx to the Empty Quarter

The success achieved in establishing a self-reproducing and growing herd of Arabian oryx in Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area encouraged both the National Wildlife Center and the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Center for Wildlife Research in Taif to implement the same program in the Aruq Bani Maared Protected Area in the Empty Quarter. This protected area covers an area of about 12,000 square kilometers at the western edge of the Empty Quarter (one of the driest regions in the world). The region receives annual rainfall of less than 50 mm per annum, and its temperature exceeds 50 degrees in summer. It is also not possible to predict annual rainfall, as the coefficient of annual change exceeds 80%. Wild angulates became extinct from the area due to over hunting. The people of the region had acknowledged that the Arabian oryx and Sand gazelle were seen at the western edge of the Empty Quarter until the end of the 1960s. This is due to the presence of good vegetation cover in the valleys of that region. The people of the region have acknowledged that the Arabian Oryx and sand gazelle were seen at the western edge of the Empty Quarter until the end of the sixties of the last century. This is due to the presence of good vegetation cover in the valleys of that region.

Oryx Transfer

Since 1995 when Arabian oryx and Reem gazelles were released in the protected area, the number of groups transferred was 17 groups till the present day which adds up to 149 Oryx heads (70 males, and 79 females). Including 141 oryx from those captive bred herds of Prince Saudi al-Faisal Wildlife Research Center at al-Taief in addition to 8 animals that were translocated from the Mahazat al-said Protected Area to the Uruq Bani Maared Protected Area.

Houbara bustards return to Mahazat as-Sayd, Saga and Umm Al Ramthed reserves

The Houbara bustards have adapted to desert environments, and it is a shy bird that varies in feeding in dry, open areas. And because it is the main prey of Arab falconers, it has been considered by those concerned with wildlife and the renewable use of natural resources a media subject of priority. The decrease in the number of Houbara bustards in the Kingdom is due to overfishing and the deterioration of its natural environment as a result of overgrazing, agricultural development, and the transformation of the Houbara from a widely spread and breeding bird in the Kingdom to small scattered groups subject to protection in the Harat al-Hara PA in the far north of the Kingdom. The center’s researchers are working side by side with the center’s Rangers to protect what remains of these birds.

In order to preserve this desert bird from extinction in the Kingdom, the Captive Breeding Houbara Project was established at the Prince Saud Al Faisal Center for Wildlife Research. The main objective of the project was to form a group that could self-breed and reproduce Houbara chicks that could be reintroduced in the suitable habitats in the Kingdom. This reintroduction will establish new natural breeding populations. The center succeeded in hatching the first Houbara egg in 1989. As a result of improving methods of artificial insemination and incubation. This coincided with the results of the physiological research on reproductive, nutrition and growth of houbara. The center was able to produce sufficient numbers that were first launched in nature in 1991 in Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area. And between 1991 - 1998, the number of birds released in the protected area reached 330 birds. Birds began to naturally reproduce in the reserve in 1995 and recorded the first nests of Houbara bustards in the center of the Kingdom after a lapse of more than forty years.

After ten years of work, the center was able to breed Houbara in large numbers annually, amounting to 300 birds in 1999. The success continued with the production of more than 2000 Houbaras during the ten years of the beginning of work in the center.

Viewed 1978 time. | Last Update 05/03/2021

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​​​​​ ​Reintroduction

The return of the Arabian Oryx to the Empty Quarter

Houbara bustards return to Mahazat as-Sayd, Saga and Umm Al Ramthed reserves

Reintroduction