Covering some 9 million km² and comparable in size to the United States, the Sahara is the largest of the planet’s hot deserts. While the desert itself is perhaps best known for its apparently inhospitable features such as sand dunes (ergs), gravel plains (reg), stone plateaus (hamadas) and dry river beds (wadis), it also comprises mountain massifs and oases fed by vast underground aquifers. Peripheral eco-regions that are highly influenced by the Sahara include steppe grasslands and woodlands to the north and across the Sahel in the south. This variety of habitats gives rise to a diversity of arid-adapted species and the region is far richer in wildlife than often expected.

Among this wealth of life are a number of species such as the addax Addax nasomaculatus, dama gazelle Gazella dama and north African populations of cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and red necked ostrich Struthio camelus camelus that are at high risk of extinction due to habitat degradation and over-exploitation. Having succumbed to these pressures, another Saharan species the scimitar-horned oryx Oryx dammah is now thought to be extinct in the wild. This large arid adapted antelope once inhabited the vast arid steppes and wooded inter-dunal depressions bordering the Sahara. In the north, scimitar-horned oryx were found from Morocco to the nile and in the south from Mauritania to Sudan. Across its range, the species occurred in large numbers, migrating long distances in search of fresh pastures. While the oryx herds were to an extent threatened by development of marginal sub-desert lands and competition with domestic livestock, it was unsustainable hunting following the advent of four-wheel drive vehicles and automatic weapons that caused its ultimate demise.

Fortunately, there is a healthy population of scimitar-horned oryx in captivity and our long term aim is to help reintroduce the species across its former habitats in the periphery of the Sahara. This is ultimately dependent on addressing the underlying reasons for its disappearance and the ongoing decline of other desert wildlife. We seek to achieve this greater goal by working with like-minded organisations and by playing an active role in establishing and developing the Sahara Conservation Fund, an international non-governmental organisation dedicated to this cause.