Status and Conservation
Scimitar oryx were hunted for their horns, almost to extinction. Originally, it began to decline as a result of major climatic changes that caused the Sahara Desert region to become dry. The northern population was mostly lost prior to the 20th century. The decline of the southern population accelerated as Europeans began to settle the area and hunt them for meat, hides and horn-trophies. World War II and the Civil War in Chad during the 1980s are thought to have caused heavy decreases of the species through an increase in hunting for food.
Where once they occupied the whole Sahara Desert, they are now considered to be extinct in the wild, with no confirmed sightings in the wild for over 15 years. Reports of sightings in Chad and Niger remain unsubstantiated, despite extensive surveys carried out throughout Chad and Niger in 2001-2004 in an effort to detect Sahelo-Sahara antelopes. At least until 1985, 500 oryx were estimated to be surviving in Chad and Niger, but by 1988, only a few individuals survived in the wild.
A global captive breeding program was initiated in the 1960s. In 1996, at least 1,250 captive animals were held in zoos and parks around the world, with a further 2,145 on ranches in Texas. In 2005, at least 1,550 captives were managed as part of breeding programmes, and more than 4,000 are believed to be held in private collections in the United Arab Emirates. Fenced in herds in three reserves in Tunisia, one reserve in Morocco and two reserves in Senegal are part of the reintroduction plans.
A female calf was born in the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute of the National Zoo in Front Royal, Virginia on April 16, 2010, increasing the Smithsonian's herd to 17.
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