RIYADH — The Arabian oryx is the first species to recover from “Extinct in the Wild” to “Vulnerable”, following conservation breeding and reintroduction efforts in Saudi Arabia.In 2011, the Arabian oryx’s classification on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List improved from Endangered (EN) to Vulnerable (VU), marking a three-category improvement for a species previously classified as Extinct in the Wild (EW).After the species disappeared from the wild in the 1970s, Saudi Arabia embarked on a long-term effort to restore the Arabian oryx and return it to its historical habitats.The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula, making it a symbol of the region’s desert environment and an important part of its identity and culture. It also plays a key ecological role through seed dispersal, tree pruning and supporting vegetation growth, helping sustain desert ecosystems.
The national experience has been documented by PANORAMA – Solutions for Nature, highlighting efforts led by the National Center for Wildlife Development (NCWD) through conservation breeding, reintroduction, habitat conservation, and post-release monitoring and management.According to NCWD data for 2026, around 3,064 Arabian oryx are living in the wild across 11 sites, with populations continuing to grow.International efforts to save the Arabian oryx date to the early 1960s, when the IUCN, in cooperation with the World Wildlife Fund, launched Operation Oryx to establish a conservation breeding herd as wild populations declined rapidly.
