English abstract
The Arabian oryx may now be extinct in the wild. If so it was exterminated by hunters in four-wheel drive vehicles using automatic weapons. Fortunately the species has bred well in captivity thanks largely to the 1962 FPS Operation Oryx, and now animals bred in the USA are becoming available for return to the wild where practicable.
Jordan has already embarked on such a project, and Oman, home of the last oryx herds in Arabia, is now planning to release oryx in the Jiddat al Harasis, a vast stony plateau where the last known wild Arabian oryx were killed. In February 1977, at the request of the Oman Government, Dr Jungius, as Director of WWF's Department of Conservation, made a feasibility study, from the report of which the following article is extracted, followed up by a more detailed investigation in March 1978. One most encouraging aspect of the scheme is that the Harasis people regard the oryx as their tribal property. They want the oryx to return, and are prepared to guard them.
