On the other side of the world, animals that have been extinct in the wild since 2000 are mere months away from roaming freely in their native land once again.

The first 25 of 500 scimitar-horned oryx set for reintroduction into Chad arrived in the country March 14. The project’s driving force is the Environmental Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD).

With the green light, participants at 17 locations across America, Europe and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were able to begin shipping oryx to Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, with the goal of building a “world herd.” From there, the first 25 were sent to Chad.

A couple of the first 25 scimitar-horned oryx from the “world herd” hit the ground running in Chad after being transported from Abu Dhabi. Currently in a fenced area, they are slated for release into the wild August 21. Thus far, Fossil Rim Wildlife…