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Oryx leucoryx
– Endangered
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
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ANIMALIA
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Phylum:
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CHORDATA
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Class:
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MAMMALIA
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Order:
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ARTIODACTYLA
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Family:
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BOVIDAE
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Scientific Name:
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Oryx leucoryx
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Species Authority:
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(Pallas, 1777)
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Common Name/s:
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| English | — | ARABIAN ORYX, WHITE ORYX |
| French | — | ORYX BLANC, ORYX D'ARABIE |
| Spanish | — | ORIX DE ARABIA |
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Assessment Information
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Red List Category & Criteria:
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EN C1 ver 3.1 (2001)
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Year Assessed:
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2003
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Assessor/s:
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Participants at 4th International Conservation Workshop for the Threatened Fauna of Arabia
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Evaluator/s:
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Plowman, A. & Mallon, D.P. (Antelope Red List Authority)
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Justification:
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The last few years have seen a sharp decline in the Oman population, mainly due to illegal live-capture for private collections, and a steady increase in the size of the two reintroduced populations in Saudi Arabia.
The Oman population fell from 450 in 1996 to 106 by early 2003, but the effective size is much smaller as these consist of an estimated 100 males and only six females.
In Saudi Arabia, numbers rose from approximately 400 in 1997 to approximately 700 by early 2003. There has also been a small increase in the Israeli population. Thus, current overall numbers of reintroduced oryx are approximately the same as they were in 1997. However, when the effective size of the remnant Oman population is taken into consideration there has been an overall decline of over 11%.
The market for wild-caught oryx, particularly females, is nowhere near saturated and the problems of illegal capture, smuggling and sale have not been solved, so a 20% decline over the next five years is a conservative estimate justifying the EN C1 listing.
Downlisting to a lesser category of threat requires that the conditions justifying the move be met for five years, which is not yet the case, further supporting the current EN category. Furthermore, there is some debate as to whether the largest released population (500) in Mahazat as-Sayd Reserve qualifies as a fully free-living population because the reserve is completely fenced.
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History:
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| 1965 | - | "Very rare and believed to be decreasing in numbers" (Scott 1965) |
| 1986 | - | Endangered (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1986) |
| 1988 | - | Endangered (IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre 1988) |
| 1990 | - | Endangered (IUCN 1990) |
| 1994 | - | Endangered (Groombridge 1994) |
| 1996 | - | Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge 1996) |
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Geographic Range
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Range Description:
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Formerly occurred through most of the Arabian Peninsula, north to Kuwait and Iraq.
Currently there are five reintroduced populations: Oman (Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, 27,000 km²); Saudi Arabia (Mahazat as-Sayd Reserve, 2,900 km² and Uruq Bani Ma’arid Reserve, 5,500 km²); Israel (Northern Arava and Negev Desert). A small population has also been introduced to Hawar Island, Bahrain. Reintroductions in Jordan, Kuwait and Syria are planned or projected.
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Countries:
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Introduced:
Bahrain
Reintroduced:
Israel; Oman; Saudi Arabia
Regionally extinct:
Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; United Arab Emirates; Yemen
Regionally extinct (uncertain origin):
Egypt; Syrian Arab Republic
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Population
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Population:
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Current total is estimated at approximately 886: Oman (approximately 106); Saudi Arabia (approximately 700 (500 in Mahazat as Sayd and 200 in Uruq Bani Ma’arid); Israel (65 in total. A further release of 20 in the Negev is planned for 2003); Bahrain (15).
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Population Trend:
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Habitat and Ecology
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System:
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Terrestrial
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List of Habitats:
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Threats
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Threats:
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The Oman population has been devastated by illegal live capture for sale to private collections and this remains the main threat. The security of animals that wander outside the protected areas where they have been released cannot be guaranteed. Drought and overgrazing have reduced habitat quality in places and limited the choice of potential release further release sites.
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List of Threats:
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| 1.1.4 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Agriculture - Livestock (ongoing) |
| 1.4.2 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Infrastructure development - Human settlement (ongoing) |
| 1.4.4 | Habitat Loss/Degradation - Infrastructure development Transport (land/air) (ongoing) |
| 3.1.1 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Food - Subsistence use/local trade (past) |
| 3.1.2 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Food - Sub-national/national trade (past) |
| 3.5.2 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Cultural/scientific/leisure activities - Sub-national/national trade (ongoing) |
| 3.5.3 | Harvesting (hunting/gathering) - Cultural/scientific/leisure activities - Regional/international trade (ongoing) |
| 7.1 | Natural disasters - Drought (present, future) |
| 9.9 | Intrinsic factors - Restricted range (present, future) |
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Conservation Actions
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Conservation Actions:
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Protective legislation in Saudi Arabia, Oman and Israel is adequate. Occur in the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, (Oman), and Mahazat as-Sayd and Uruq Bani Ma’arid reserves (Saudi Arabia). Sites in Israel and Bahrain are also protected.
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List of Conservation Actions:
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| 1.1.1 | Policy-based actions - Management plans - Development (needed) |
| 1.2.1.2 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Development - National level (in place, needed) |
| 1.2.2.1 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - International level (needed) |
| 1.2.2.2 | Policy-based actions - Legislation - Implementation - National level (needed) |
| 2.2 | Communication and Education - Awareness (needed) |
| 5.1 | Species-based actions - Re-introductions (in place, needed) |
| 5.2 | Species-based actions - Benign introductions (in place) |
| 5.7.1 | Species-based actions - Ex situ conservation actions - Captive breeding/Artificial propagation (in place) |
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Bibliography
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Bibliography:
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Baillie, J. and Groombridge, B. (compilers and editors) 1996. 1996 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. Blank, D.A. 2003. In litt. Groombridge, B. (ed.) 1994. 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1986. 1986 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN Conservation Monitoring Centre. 1988. 1988 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN. 1990. 1990 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. IUCN. 2003. 2003 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. www.iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 18 November 2003. Scott, P. (ed.) 1965. Section XIII. Preliminary List of Rare Mammals and Birds. In: The Launching of a New Ark, pp. 15–207. First Report of the President and Trustees of the World Wildlife Fund. An International Foundation for saving the world's wildlife and wild places 1961–1964. Collins, London.
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