Back from the Brink: Phoenix Zoo Pioneers Oryx Breeding Efforts
October 13, 2009
The Phoenix Zoo has pioneered efforts to save the Arabian Oryx from extinction. In 1967, four years after the Phoenix Zoo started their oryx program, the species went completely extinct in the wild. Today an estimated 1,500 Arabian Oryx live in zoos and wildlife preserves around the world and most of these animals can be traced back to the original seven sent to the Phoenix Zoo in 1963.
Just recently the Phoenix Zoo (Twitter @PhoenixZoo) welcomed its 237th baby oryx calf. Named “Nadirah” (nuh-deer-uh), Arabic for precious or rare, the girl weighed only 13.5lbs at birth but will grow to be between 200-400 lbs in adulthood! She is reportedly strong, feisty, and quite vocal, just like her father.