Cincinnati Ships Two Oryx Loaned by S.D. Zoo to Israel
The Cincinnati Zoo has shipped two Arabian oryx on loan from San Diego to a reserve in Israel as part of an international effort to breed and preserve the endangered antelope species.
A male and a female oryx were shipped Saturday from the zoo’s Mast Farm breeding center. The oryx were on breeding loan from the San Diego Zoo. Five oryx have been born at the Ohio farm in the past two years.
The two oryx are to join 30 others at the Hai Bar Reserve in Israel. The American Assn. of Zoological Parks and Aquariums is managing the preservation plan, which is intended to reintroduce the oryx in its native desert habitat.
Arabian oryx, noted for their long, straight horns, have been extinct in their habitat for 20 years. The world’s population of oryx is estimated to be 1,300.
Hunted for its meat, hide and horns, the animal survives today in a few zoos and protected reserves in Israel, Oman, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
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