Scimitar-horned oryx (SHO) were declared extinct in the wild in 2000.  Conservationists, such as Fossil Rim and the Sahara Conservation Fund, are working hard to breed this species and reintroduce SHO into large protected areas in northern Africa.  This species was formerly native to the Sahara Desert and was heavily diminished by overhunting and habitat loss.  Fossil Rim has more than 20 SHO in our herd and has produced six to eight calves during each of the last three years.

Scimitar-Horned Oryx

 Fossil Rim is also working to support the conservation and propagation of SHO in protected areas in Africa.  In 2007, Fossil Rim sent two scimitar-horned oryx and two addax (a critically endangered species) to Tunisia to join captive herds living in a large protected area that is several thousand hectares in size.  Numerous zoos have sent SHO and addax to Tunisia, and the hope is that someday these…