JEDDAH: The birth of an onager foal in Saudi Arabia after more than a century marks a major milestone in the Kingdom’s efforts to restore native species and revive ecosystems that once shaped the Arabian Peninsula.
“There is something profoundly beautiful about an animal once sung of by poets in this very land over 1,000 years ago returning to our desert, its comeback heralded by the birth of a foal after some 100 years of absence. It heralds the return of a symbol of freedom, resilience, and the wild spirit that has always defined the desert.”
Andrew Zaloumis, CEO of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve, told Arab News that the birth of the first onager born and bred on Saudi soil in more than a century represents far more than the arrival of a single animal.
Announced in June, the birth was achieved under the reserve’s ReWild Arabia program, which aims to return 23 historically occurring native species to their former ranges.
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