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In the desert, the oryx returns from extinction

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published March 27, 2007

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Nearly 100 Arabian oryxes have been released into the desert of the United Arab Emirates in an attempt to reintroduce the creature to its natural habitat after 40 years of extinction in the Persian Gulf country.

The Arabian oryx is a large and graceful white antelope with antennae-like horns that was officially declared extinct from the wild in 1972 due to hunting and habitat destruction.

The plan is to release about 100 captive-bred oryxes into desert areas in the emirate of Abu Dhabi every year until 2012.

The country's environmental agency is in the process of having the 4,000-square-mile habitat classified as a protected area. Rangers will patrol the area.

Shelters and feeding centers will help oryxes adapt to the new environment. These will gradually be removed as the animal learns to survive independently.

There are about 4,000 of these animals living in captivity in the Emirates.

[Last modified March 27, 2007, 01:35:27]