Re-introduction of Arabian oryx into the Negev Desert, Israel

Summary

Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) went extinct in the wild in 1972 through overhunting. Israel's Nature and Parks Authority re-established the species in the Negev desert using a permanent breeding core at Hai-Bar Yotvata, founded from four pairs supplied by the Phoenix Zoo, and a sustained-yield strategy withdrawing roughly 15 females every three years without depleting the core herd. Following a 1989 feasibility study, animals were released at three sites representing different biogeographic zones: near the Shachak spring in the upper Arava valley (31 animals released in 1997 to 1998), the Paran riverbed in the central Negev (40 animals across 2000 to 2002), and the Ketzev riverbed in the transition zone (40 animals across 2003 to 2007). Nearly all females and most males were radio collared, and animals were held in fenced habituation enclosures, initially for six months and later reduced to two to three months, before being released by removing sections of fence. Weekly monitoring by graduate students found the Shachak population grew strongly, while the Paran and Ketzev populations declined due to low reproductive success, possibly linked to subtle nutritional differences between zones despite adequate protein intake at all sites. Additional mortality resulted from oryx becoming entangled in military parachute flares. The project rated itself Partially Successful, citing good performance in only one of the three released populations.