Iconic Antelope Is Not Extinct Anymore!

Following successful reintroduction schemes, the striking Scimitar Oryx is no longer classified as Extinct in the Wild and is back across the African continent, most notably in Chad.

The most triumphant reintroduction scheme took place in Chad where 21 oryx were released in the 7,800,000-hectare Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve in 2016. In 2021, some 60 new calves were born and today, there are roughly 400 Scimitar Ory in the wild.

Once widespread across North Africa and parts of West Africa and Central Africa, the large antelope is especially adapted to harsh desert conditions. It can survive for months, even years, without drinking water. In 2000, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) put the mammal on its Extinct in the Wild Red List of Threatened Species after antelopes failed to be detected in the Sahel and the Sahara from 2001 and 2004. An intensive captive-breeding program was implemented to turn the situation around, and thousands of animals were kept in Texas, the United States, and some Middle Eastern states. The Antelope Specialist Group documented the successful reintroduction schemes in Morocco, Senegal, and Tunisia. In 2023, the antelope was downlisted from Extinct in the Wild to Endangered by the IUCN.