From Marwell to Chad: Celebrating 10 Years of Oryx Recovery

Cast your mind back to 2015, if you can. ‘Uptown Funk’ is dominating global airwaves; a photo of a blue (or is it gold?) dress divides the internet; and selfie sticks are being wafted everywhere. Meanwhile, at Marwell Zoo, something altogether very different is happening; scimitar-horned oryx, Oryx dammah, are being readied for a journey that will lead to the species’ reintroduction to Chad.

This ambitious project to return scimitar-horned oryx to their former stronghold in the wild was a joint initiative by the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and the Government of Chad, implemented on the ground by Sahara Conservation, and supported by partners including Marwell Wildlife.

Marwell was well placed to support the Chad reintroduction project due to our long history with oryx reintroductions in Tunisia in 1985, 1999 and 2007. Marwell has also managed scimitar-horned oryx herds at our zoo since the early 1970s sending them to other zoos all round the world and coordinated both the EAZA Ex Situ Programme (EEP) and the International Studbook for the species.

To give the Chad reintroduction project the best chance of success, a genetically diverse World Herd was built at Deleika in the United Arab Emirates under the direction of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, with the World Herd acting as the source population for this ground-breaking project to reverse the species’ extinction in the wild. The EEP coordinator at the time, our current Head of Conservation Science, Dr Tania Gilbert, selected 14 oryx from European zoos whose genetic variation would strengthen that source population.

In the autumn of 2014, eight oryx from six European zoos began arriving at Marwell to join six of Marwell’s own herd ahead of their onward journey to the UAE.

The arrival of these animals meant our Marwell herd doubled in size, and the zoo provided a temporary home to almost 30 oryx spread out in different habitats. For our keeper team, this meant a great deal more work, especially for those looking after the bachelor herd. Scimitars form mixed-sex herds in the wild and rarely gather in all-male groups where there is a risk that competition for dominance can become physical. Group dynamics can break down quickly and unexpectedly in bachelor groups, and our hoofstock-keepers kept a particularly close eye on the boys. Fortunately, the social bonds in the bachelor group remained strong and stable for the duration of their stay at Marwell.

Finally, to the great relief and excitement of our hoofstock team, in December 2015, 14 oryx, including the six Marwell-born animals, were coaxed into their custom-made crates and began their journey to join the World Herd in Deleika accompanied by the team from the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi and two of Marwell’s keepers.

By August 2016, the first group of oryx had been released into the wild in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve, Chad, and just one month later, the first wild birth was recorded. The animals from Marwell were not included in the initial releases, but their offspring were, genetically enhancing not only the World Herd, but also the reintroduced population in Chad. Now, fast-forward to 2026 – 10 years on from that first release, the population numbers around 600 animals and the species has been re-assessed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to ‘Endangered’, from ‘Extinct in the Wild’. Whilst the scimitar-horned are still threatened with extinction in the wild, the conservation efforts have led to the re-establishment of the species in their natural habitat – a mammoth task and a huge conservation achievement.

Our involvement in the Chad reintroduction is just one chapter in Marwell’s long history with scimitar-horned oryx. Since 1985, we have continued worked in Tunisia with our key partner, the Direction Générale des Forêts, alongside other Tunisian and international partners, to restore ecosystems for oryx and the wider landscape.

In 2026, as we mark 10 years since the first release of oryx to Chad, the recovery of scimitar-horned oryx remains a powerful example of what long-term collaboration can achieve – and of the part Marwell has played, and continues to play, in the species’ future.