This paper is reproduced from the 2004 EAZA Conference proceedings.
Citation: Woodfine, T., Gilbert, T. & Engel, H. (2005): A summary of past and
present initiatives for the conservation and reintroduction of addax and
scimitar-horned oryx in North Africa. Proceedings of the EAZA Conference
2004, Kolmarden. EAZA Executive Office, Amsterdam: 208 – 211.
A Summary of Past and Present Initiatives for the Conservation and
Reintroduction of Addax and Scimitar-horned Oryx in North Africa.
¹ Woodfine, T., ¹ Gilbert, T.C. & ² Engel, H.
¹ Department of Conservation & Wildlife Management, Marwell Preservation Trust,
Colden Common, Winchester, Hampshire, SO21 1JH, UK.
² Zoo Hannover GmbH, Adenauerallee 3, 30175 Hannover Germany
Introduction
Scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) and addax (addax nasomaculatus) are
arid adapted antelope which formerly inhabited large areas of North Africa
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Nile, covering countries both North (Morocco to
Egypt) and South (Mauritania to Sudan) of the Sahara (Haltenorth, 1963;
Schomber, 1963; Wilson, 1980; Engel & Brunsing, 1999). Both species were
once widespread and abundant in the region, but have suffered catastrophic
declines due to excessive and unsustainable hunting, habitat degradation,
political unrest and competition with domestic livestock (Bassett, 1975;
Newby, 1980; Dixon et al., 1991; Gordon 1991; Devillers & DevillersTerchuren,
2003; Beudels-Jamar et al., 2003). As a result, the scimitar-horned
oryx is now extinct in the wild (IUCN 2003) and the addax is critically
endangered (IUCN 2003), being restricted to small populations in Chad, Niger
and an area between Mauritania and central western Mali (Beudels-Jamar et
al., 2003).
While the protection of remnant addax populations is a priority, the restoration
of this species and the scimitar-horned oryx to former range is dependent on
repatriation from captive stock. Conservation of remnant addax and the
reintroduction of both species will require statutory protection measures,
appropriate regional and national strategies that encompass ecosystem
management and socio-economic benefits. This will inevitably need to be
underpinned by long-term and sustained efforts of the statutory and nonstatutory
international conservation bodies. Support from the global zoo
community for the provision of animals, technical expertise and other
resources will be of critical importance.
Protection & Regional Conservation Initiatives
Scimitar-horned oryx and addax are afforded international protection through
their listings on Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and Appendix 1 of the
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
The latter obligates member states to strictly protect species, to conserve or
restore their habitats, and to mitigate obstacles to migration. In response, a
number of range states are participating in a CMS Action Plan. The
Conservation and Restoration of Sahelo-Saharan Antelopes (Beudels-Jamar
et al, 2003), caters for six species: dama gazelle Gazella dama, slenderhorned
gazelle Gazella leptoceros, Cuvier's gazelle Gazella cuvieri, dorcas
Gazelle Gazella dorcas, and of course addax and scimitar-horned oryx. With
funding available to support many of the objectives of the Action Plan through
a partnership with Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial (FFEM),
there is cause for optimism.
A second initiative that offers great potential is the imminent launch of the
Saharan Conservation Fund (SCF), an international non-governmental
organisation emerging from the membership of the Sahelo-Saharan Interest
Group (SSIG). The latter was created in 1999 to bring together individuals and
organisations with shared goals of conserving wildlife and other natural
resources in North Africa. SSIG meets annually and maintains communication
between members through a dedicated list-serve. Alliances forged since 1999
are now manifest in the formation of SCF, providing a tangible mechanism to
pool resources, share expertise and act collectively to achieve greater goals
then otherwise possible.
These initiatives come at a welcome time. Current political priorities mean that
resources for biodiversity conservation tend to be allocated to sub-Saharan
Africa. While such resources are much needed in that region, North Africa’s
wealth of arid adapted species are often forgotten, despite their great intrinsic
and economic value. The impressive addax and scimitar-horned oryx play
important roles as flagships in this context.
Return of Addax & Scimitar-horned Oryx to North Africa
To date, releases of captive bred scimitar-horned oryx and addax have been
undertaken in fenced reserves in Tunisia, Morocco and Senegal. The first
such initiative took place in the Bou Hedma National Park in Tunisia 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 augmented in 1998 with a further six animals from the North
American Species Survival Plan (SSP).
In 1999, a further 14 oryx were transported to Tunisia from the European
Endangered Species Programme (EEP). Of these, a single male was sent to
augment the population at Bou Hedma while the others were used to found
populations in two other fenced protected areas. A total of 10 (1.9) were
released into Sidi Toui National Park while four (1.3) were released at Oued
Dekouk National Park. In 2003, two female oryx, born at Sidi Toui, were
translocated to augment the group at Oued Dekouk.
By the beginning of 2004, the Bou Hedma National Park hosted populations
of approximately 120 scimitar-horned oryx and 70 addax (Karem pers. comm,
2004). At the same time there were 33 oryx at Sidi Toui and a further eight at
Oued Dekouk.
Similar projects were initiated in Morocco in 1994 when 70 (42.28) addax from
EEP zoos were released into the Rokein Reserve, a fenced protected area
within the boundary of the Souss Massa National Park (Engel & Brunsing,
1999). In 1995, five male scimitar-horned oryx were released into the Arrouais
Reserve, also within the Souss Massa National Park, and in 1996 and 1997 a
further 24 (12.12) EEP oryx were released into this area (Muller & Engel,
2004). The number of addax in the Rokein Reserve was recently estimated at
575 individuals, while the number of the number of scimitar-horned oryx in the
Arrouais Reserve had increased to 91 (Haddane pers. comm., 2004).
In 1999, Israel donated eight scimitar-horned oryx for a release project in the
Guembeul Fauna Reserve, Senegal. In 2002, these were joined by an
additional two females from Paris Zoo, and by 2003 the herd had increased to
26 individuals. In January 2003, eight (3.5) oryx were translocated to the Ferlo
National Park as founders for a second population in the country. The current
population in Senegal currently stands at 30 oryx: 18 at the Guembeul
Reserve and 12 at the Ferlo National Park (Gilbert, 2004).
National Strategies
Addax and scimitar-horned oryx feature highly in the national strategies
produced for the CMS Action Plan. Through this process, 10 range states
have expressed a commitment to conserve or reintroduce addax, while 12
countries have included the reintroduction of scimitar-horned oryx in their
national strategies.
Tunisia currently leads the way in terms of concerted actions. In April 2004, a
technical workshop was held in Douz, Tunisia, by CMS at the invitation of the
Direction Générale des Forêts (DGF) with the aim of reviewing and updating
the national strategy for the conservation of Sahelo-Saharan antelopes. This
resulted in a vision of developing populations of addax and oryx in fenced
reserves, to be achieved through the release of additional captive bred
animals and an ongoing programme of meta-population management. Once
populations at each park are large enough, the fences may be taken down in
at least one location, for each species, to allow animals to roam freely.
The Moroccan authorities are also in the process of reviewing and developing
their national strategy and are due to host a similar planning meeting in 2005.
Global Captive Management & Reintroduction
With the process of reintroducing addax and oryx already underway in some
countries and a desire to see these animals return expressed by others,
participation and support is needed from the formal captive breeding
programmes. The most significant global populations of addax and oryx in
terms of founder representation, numbers and their formal management are
those of the EAZA European Endangered Species Programme (EEP) and the
AZA Species Survival Plan (SSP).
Representatives of both addax and scimitar-horned EEPs and SSPs met,
together with the Chairs of the AZA and EAZA Antelope Taxon Advisory
Groups, at St. Louis Zoo in October 2003. The purpose of this meeting was to
address global management issues for both species, including captive
breeding and how to meet demands for reintroduction. Work began on global
master-plans for both addax and scimitar-horned oryx and a series of
initiatives aimed at offering support to North African countries in their efforts to
conserve and reintroduce these species were discussed. Importantly, a
common reintroduction policy was developed offering guidelines for zoos and
range states to ensure that projects are biologically, politically and
economically viable, and are based on the principles of modern conservation
biology.
Representatives of this group attended the strategic planning workshop in
Douz, Tunisia. A formal request was subsequently received from DGF to
produce recommendations for further releases and meta-population
management of addax and scimitar-horned oryx within the framework of
Tunisia’s national strategy. Hence the EEP / SSP team met again at Hanover
Zoo in August 2004 and a document resulting from those discussions was
delivered to DGF in October. Implementation of these plans is due to
commence in 2005 and 2006.
The EEP / SSP team has since received a formal invitation to participate in
the planning workshop in Morocco and is actively engaged in broader the
process of addax and scimitar-horned oryx conservation across the region.
Conclusion
True reintroduction of addax and scimitar-horned oryx to unfenced areas
within former range where each species may resume their migratory patterns
is still a distant (though increasingly realistic) goal. In the meantime, national
strategies must consider the need for the acquisition of appropriate founder
stock, representing the global gene pools for each species, and ongoing
meta-population management. Moreover, the international zoo community
must be ready to meet the challenge of not only supplying founder stock, but
also the provision of advice and other resources to meet the technical and
financial demands of reintroduction.
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