Tunisia leads the way
Scimitar-horned oryx and addax are the largest desert antelopes and formerly inhabited large areas of the Sahara and Sahel. Both species were once widespread and common in the region but suffered catastrophic declines due to excessive hunting, habitat loss and competition with domestic livestock. As a result, the scimitar-horned oryx is now extinct in the wild and the addax is critically endangered, being restricted today to small populations in Chad and Niger. However, with approximately 1400 scimitar-horned oryx and 670 addax managed in zoological institutions around the world, stock is available to re-establish these species in their former ranges.
Tunisia currently leads the way in the reintroduction of scimitar-horned oryx and addax. The country has expressed a commitment to re-establish both species as a participant in the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) Action Plan for the Conservation and Restoration of Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes and has developed a national strategy to achieve this. The strategy involves the establishment of up to four sub-populations of both oryx and addax in fenced protected areas, each several thousand hectares in size. The herds will be managed as a single population with translocation of animals between each area. Once viable populations have been established, the long-term vision is to remove fences in appropriate areas to allow true free-ranging herds to be reintroduced.
Poised for release
To date, releases of captive bred scimitar-horned oryx and addax have been undertaken in three fenced reserves in Tunisia. The first such initiative took place in the Bou Hedma National Park in 1985 and 1986. Ten scimitar-horned oryx from Marwell and Edinburgh zoos in the UK were released into a total protection zone within the park, together with eight addax from Hanover zoo, Germany. The addax population was genetically boosted in 1998 with a further six animals from the United States.
A further shipment of oryx from Europe in 1999 led to the release of 10 into Sidi Toui National Park, four into the Oued Dekouk Reserve and a single male to augment the population at Bou Hedma National Park. In 2003, two female oryx, born at Sidi Toui, were translocated to augment the group at the Oued Dekouk Reserve.
The aim of the current project is to support the establishment of populations of scimitar-horned oryx and addax in Dghoumes National Park and Djebil National Park respectively, in accordance with the Tunisian strategy for the reintroduction and meta-population management of desert antelope. This will be achieved through the translocation of existing Tunisian stock from Bou Hedma National Park and will be followed by augmentation with animals from Europe and the United States.
The process will involve transport of selected animals from participating zoos to Hanover Zoo in Germany, followed by a single shipment by air to Tozeur in Tunisia. From there, teams representing the Tunisian DGF, the zoo community and wildlife vets appointed by CMS will be responsible for overland transport of oryx to Dghoumes and addax to Djebil.
Each national park has reception pens and larger acclimatisation enclosures to facilitate the gradual introduction of antelope to the protected areas. Post-release monitoring will be carried out in accordance with recommendations prepared by the Zoological Society of London on behalf of DGF and CMS. The process will include husbandry, veterinary and monitoring training for relevant DGF personnel. The project has been planned in accordance with IUCN Guidelines on Reintroductions.
A strong and effective partnership
The project was initiated by the Direction Générale des Forêts (DGF), the statutory authority for wildlife conservation and protected area management in Tunisia. DGF is responsible for implementation of the national strategy for the reintroduction of desert antelope and is Tunisia’s representative at the Convention on Migratory Species. DGF also coordinates the inputs from the project's numerous dedicated partners. A list of all the contributors can be found here.
In partnership with CMS and the Fonds Français pour l’Environnement Mondial (FFEM), partial funding for the operation has been secured and DGF and CMS have formally requested that the US and European breeding programmes provide animals, funding and technical support for transport fencing and training. The Zoological Society of London is providing technical advice and recommendations for post-release monitoring of antelope.
The Sahara Conservation Fund and the World Association of Zoos and Aquaria (WAZA) have endorsed the project. SCF has agreed to manage the zoo funds and provide technical support as needed. In addition, thanks to generous donations from a number of zoos, individual donors, and from Germany’s Dachser Logistik in association with NABU, the German Society for Nature Conservation, SCF will also be providing financial support for infrastructure and transport of the animals.
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this project and ways in which you
can help Tunisia and SCF achieve their conservation goals,
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