Acknowledging that the scimitar horned oryx’ comeback was not an overnight success story, ZSL’s senior conservation biologist Tim Wacher, who has supported the post-release monitoring of the oryx population, said: “The return of the scimitar horned oryx is the result of a long-term conservation effort for the species – following in-depth, careful preparation, and championed and supported by the Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi.
“All Saharan antelope species are severely threatened, but this project is proof that with the right will and resources, we can secure a future for them all.”
Professor John Ewen, researcher at our Institute of Zoology and senior author of ZSL’s Extinct in the Wild study, said: “The success of the globally coordinated conservation effort to restore the Scimitar horned oryx to Chad demonstrates the power of collaboration, but each Extinct in the Wild species is unique in how secure it is from extinction and what is needed for reestablishment of wild populations, so saving them requires specific actions tailored to each species.
“Projects like the Scimitar horned oryx show that reversing the fate of these species is possible - we just need to be able to give the same resource and commitment to the other Extinct in the Wild species that survive only under human care.”
The remarkable comeback of the scimitar horned oryx represents the restoration of not just a species, but a whole ecosystem through the role they play in it. Maintaining grasslands in their native Chad through grazing and preventing the spread of desertification – their reintroduction is a nature-based solution helping to tackle the local impacts of climate change.
Dr Terry concluded: “At ZSL, we know that if we are to truly tackle the issues facing our planet then we must stop treating biodiversity loss and climate change as two separate threats – you cannot solve one without the other. As globally important discussions conclude at COP28 this week, we must take a moment to celebrate this huge conservation success and use it to galvanise world leaders to drive future change and success.”