JEDDAH: In a milestone achievement for Saudi Arabia’s ReWild Arabia initiative, a critically endangered bird species once celebrated by Arab poets and Roman scholars has made a return to the Kingdom after an absence of almost 100 years.
The red-necked ostrich, known historically as the “camel bird,” was reintroduced by the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve as part of its rewilding program.
The reintroduction serves as a biological replacement for the extinct Arabian (Syrian) ostrich, which once roamed widely across the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula before disappearing in the early 20th century due to overhunting and habitat loss.
The red-necked ostrich, the closest living genetic relative of the Arabian ostrich, was selected for its ability to survive in extreme desert conditions and fulfil the same ecological role.
A founder population of five red-necked ostriches was released into the reserve as part of its board-approved rewilding program, which aims to restore historical levels of biodiversity across the reserve’s 24,500 sq. km of terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
