Guardians of the desert sky: inside Dubai's hot air balloon recovery team
Before the first blush of dawn touches the dunes, while the city's towers still blink in sleepy red, the desert to the east of Dubai is already awake. There, in the hush of the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve and the sandy plains beyond, a small convoy of 4x4 trucks idles beneath the fading constellations. Inside the trucks are the people most passengers will never notice in their photo albums: the hot air balloon Dubai recovery team.
They are the quiet counterpart to the spectacle. While pilots and passengers become silhouettes against a brightening horizon, the recovery crew readies tarps, ropes, radios, and water. They've checked permits. They've reviewed winds measured at multiple altitudes, studied forecast thermals, read the latest notices to airmen, and mapped out plan A, B, and C launch and landing zones. They have trekking poles to test crusted salt flats, traction boards for soft sand, and a mental atlas of where ghaf groves stand, where gazelle paths cross, and where fences or power lines might surprise. For them, the desert is not empty; it is a living terrain that requires respect, patience, and readiness.
The work begins hours before passengers arrive. In the predawn cool, the crew drags long strips of fabric onto tarps to keep sand from grinding into the balloon's envelope. Cold inflation starts with the bellow of fans, billowing color into the darkness; then the burners' hot sigh brings shape and lift. A crew member-hand on the crown line-keeps the growing giant patient and steady while the pilot tends his instruments. Hot air balloon Dubai experience Weight calculations and passenger briefings thread through the organized bustle, and at last the basket rises, gentle as breath, into that signature silence only balloons can find.
Once the balloon is aloft, the recovery team shifts from ground crew to shadow. They split across vehicles, radios open, GPS trackers pinned on a screen, eyes on the sky. Contrary to the effortless grace it projects, a hot air balloon is at the mercy of wind layers, and in Dubai's desert those layers are both gift and challenge. The air pre-dawn is stable and cool, ideal for lift. After sunrise, thermals begin to stir and low-level winds can change flavor-sometimes slipping down from the Hajar Mountains, sometimes picking up over the sabkha flats. A seasoned pilot reads those layers; a seasoned recovery team anticipates where those decisions will put rubber to sand.
The chase is not a race. It is a choreography of distance and judgment. Too close, and a truck might send a dust tail into a camel pen or spook a herd of oryx. Too far, and the team cannot reach a landing site in time to help. Roads, where they exist, are rare suggestions. The crew favors old tire lines, firmer gravel patches, and the faint edges of wadis that, after rare rains, can hold treacherous pockets of soft ground for months. They talk in clipped phrases over radio-behind dune crest, fence line to the south, stand of ghaf to starboard-creating a shared map out of scattered details.
As the sun clears the horizon, the balloon, now a bright lantern, starts its slow descent.
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Passengers have rehearsed the brace position, laughing a bit at the awkwardness of it back on the launch field. Now, when the pilot calls for it, the laughter is replaced by quiet focus.
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On the ground, the crew is already there, fanned out, scanning for hazards: a buried cable marker, a low shrub, a patch of silken sand. There is a need for both gentleness and speed in these moments. A good landing is not always a soft landing; in lively winds, a balloon may drag a few meters. The crew catches the basket, heels set in sand, matching the balloon's momentum, guiding and stabilizing, sharing weight with the pilot's skill.
Deflation is its own art. The pilot pulls the red line to open the parachute valve, and warm air spills. A crown rope, already in a crew member's hands, tames the envelope's slow bow to the earth. Sound returns-footsteps, the faint crackle of fabric, someone's low whistle of relief. Passengers climb out, eyes wide and bright. The otherworldly quiet of the airborne hour has settled into a grounded gratitude. The recovery team moves through the scene with easy purpose: one checks that burners are cooling, another inspects the basket for snags, another starts the careful flaking of fabric, panel by panel, so the envelope folds without creases that could weaken it over time.
Packing a balloon in the desert is a communal act. Sand wants to invade every seam; the team uses tarps as shields and turns the pack-down into a practiced dance. Two people squeeze air from the fabric like kneading a giant loaf, working in rhythm, while another coils lines into tidy figure eights. There is no rush, but there is efficiency. The desert teaches that fewer movements, done correctly, save sweat and save the gear. When the envelope is finally bagged, the basket is loaded onto a trailer, rigging secured, burners double-checked. “Leave no trace” isn't a slogan; it's policy and pride. A good team leaves the landing site looking as if the only thing that touched it was morning light.
Not all landings are straightforward. There are days when the winds insist on carrying the balloon farther than expected, flirting with the edges of a farm's fence line or nudging it toward a patch of sabkha whose pale crust hides slick silt. On those days, the recovery crew's problem-solving shines. They call ahead to landowners for permission and thanks. They build sand ramps with shovels and boards, or use a gentle tow under the pilot's supervision to reposition the basket safely. They keep spare water not only for themselves and guests, but for a shepherd they might meet or a fellow driver stuck on the soft side of a dune. In a landscape that tests everyone, cooperation is a kind of currency.
Safety, of course, is the spine of the job. The crew is trained in first aid and desert driving; they practice the what-ifs-unexpected gusts, equipment anomalies, heat stress-until their responses are second nature. Hot air balloon Dubai ground support . They coordinate with aviation authorities for restricted areas and with conservation rangers to avoid sensitive habitats. They follow strict briefings about weather minima. If the forecast crosses a line-winds too high, visibility too low-the answer is simple and firm: not today. Romance may sell a balloon flight, but responsibility sustains it.
And yet, alongside that seriousness, the recovery team is also keeper of small joys. They know where to find a patch of shade big enough for everyone or how to angle trucks so a breeze funnels through. They carry date-stuffed pastries and Arabic coffee, turning a patch of sand into a breakfast table, the kind of quiet hospitality that feels less like a service and more like being welcomed into a rhythm older than the city itself. They take photos on request, then take better ones unexpectedly, catching the way a family stands shoulder to shoulder, or the moment someone looks back at the sky with the face of a child.
By late morning, the desert heat begins to press.
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The convoy points back toward the city. In the rearview mirror, the dunes soften to a watercolor haze, and somewhere beyond those curves, the memory of a floating hour lingers. The passengers will share images-the flaming burners, the horizon's thin gold line, maybe even a falcon's shadow if they were especially lucky that day.
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Few will post a picture of a sand-dusted glove tightening a strap, or a hand on a crown rope easing a silk giant to sleep.
But that is the nature of the hot air balloon Dubai recovery team. They are the hands behind the wonder, the steady voices in the radio static, the watchful eyes reading sand and sky. Their work is a blend of logistics and care, of technical skill and local knowledge, of patience when the desert asks for it and decisiveness when time does. They leave at night and return by noon, and in between they stitch together the fragile, beautiful continuity between takeoff and touchdown. In a city known for the spectacular, they practice a quieter craft-the art of bringing awe safely home.
About General Civil Aviation Authority
Federal Civil aviation authority of the United Arab Emirates
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For the agency of Saudi Arabia, see General Authority of Civil Aviation.
United Arab Emirates
General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA)
الهيئة العامة للطيران المدني
Agency overview
Jurisdiction
UAE
Agency executive
Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, (Chairman)
Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, (Director General)
Website
www.gcaa.gov.ae
The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA, Arabic: الهيئة العامة للطيران المدني) is the federal civil aviation authority of the United Arab Emirates. Its headquarters is in Al Rawdah, Abu Dhabi.[1]
The GCAA is the federal responsible authority for the control and regulation of civil aviation in the UAE.
History
[edit]
It was established in 1996 by Federal Cabinet Decree (Law 4) to regulate Civil Aviation and provide designated aviation services with emphasis on safety and security and to strengthen the aviation industry within the UAE and its upper airspace. In late 2009, the GCAA opened its new Air Navigation Centre, The Sheikh Zayed Centre, which is considered the largest and busiest air traffic management facility in the Middle East as well as one of the world's most technically advanced centres in terms of its design.[2]
Memberships
[edit]
The United Arab Emirates, represented by GCAA, is an active member of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and its specialized committees.
GCAA is also an active member of the Arab Civil Aviation Commission (ACAC) Executive Council, and currently H.E Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of GCAA is heading the ACAC Executive Council.
Functions
[edit]
1. Promulgate the general policy for civil aviation and propose laws and regulations which ensure the organization thereof, forming the necessary committees to implement such policies and representing the State in the negotiations on matters involving its functions, and proposing the conclusion of bilateral agreements in the area of civil aviation and aerial meteorology, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
2. Promulgate rules related to overflight of the territory of the State, landing and departing from its airports, and the conditions of carriage of passengers, cargo and mail according to the Law, and in coordination with local authorities.
3. Determine areas over which flying is prohibited, restricted or dangerous on coordination with the concerned authorities in the State.
4. Determine aerial navigation routes to be followed on entry, departure or overflight by those aircraft given permission to transit the territory of the State.
5. Determine the condition for the registration of aircraft in the State, the registering and issue of the airworthiness certificates, and the specifications of nationality and registration symbols, and notifying the International Civil Aviation Organization regarding aircraft to which these matters apply and if any changes that may occur thereto.
6. Determine requirements for the appointment of aircraft crew members and issue the necessary licenses and related documents as appropriate.
7. Determine the documents which should be carried on board aircraft in the conduct of and inspect compliance of those aerial navigation aircraft registered in the State.
8. Promulgate the rules which ensure protection of aerial navigation lights and signals, in coordination with the local authorities.
9. Undertake the Air Traffic Control operations in the State.
10. Ensure enforcement of accepted international regulations and standards at airports of the State, including the aviation agreement, and following up their execution in coordination with the local authority.
11. Promulgate and organize training programs as appropriate to various aviation specialties.
12. Supervise the maintenance and repair of aircraft and the extent of conformity of manufacture with international and local specifications, and the locations in which such maintenance and repair are accomplished, and issue the necessary certificates and licenses for conducting such activities.
Sectors and departments
[edit]
UAE GCAA organization structure Archived 2014-05-01 at the Wayback Machine
Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) is structured along standard ICAO principles. The responsibilities include airspace design and the provision of safe and efficient air navigation service to the users of the UAE airspace.[3]
Safety Affairs is responsible for safety technical functions such as flight operations, airworthiness and aviation environment, licensing and certifications as well as air navigation and aerodromes. Safety Affairs is also responsible for supporting the UAE Federal Government in the definition of national safety policies, developing and issuing regulations, certify, license, oversee, support the development of policies for all technical domains of responsibility, coordinating national and international technical strategic agreements and providing technical experts for the air accidents and incidents investigation.[4]
Security Affairs Archived 2014-04-29 at the Wayback Machine is responsible for supporting the UAE Federal Government in the development and review of national aviation security policies and legislation.[5]
Strategy & International Affairs plays a critical role in helping the organization to identify, develop, implement and monitor Business Excellence initiatives, concepts and sustain integration of Management Systems across the board to ensure continuous quality improvement in every business units.[6]
Support Services provide essential administrative, financial and support service throughout the organization.[7]
Air Accident Investigation is responsible for the investigation of civil accidents and incidents within and outside the UAE in accordance with Annex 13 to the ICAO Convention. The purpose of the department is to enhance aviation safety by determining through investigation, the Findings and Significant Factors that lead to Safety Recommendations intended to prevent reoccurrence. It is not to purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability.[8]
Facilities
[edit]
The GCAA headquarters are in Abu Dhabi.[9][10] The headquarters, built after the GCAA's establishment as a former directorate, includes an air traffic control center and supporting facilities. In June 2009, GCAA shifted its Air Navigation Services to the newly built Sheikh Zayed Air Navigation Centre in Abu Dhabi. The Sheikh Zayed Centre is considered the largest and busiest air traffic management facility in the Middle East as well as one of the world's most technically advanced centres in terms of its design. The Air Navigation Centre consists of two main buildings, the Area Control Centre (ACC) and Emergency ACC. It also has four 60 meter masts for communication equipments.[11] In addition to the Abu Dhabi headquarters, the GCAA also has a regional office in Dubai. The facilities of the Dubai offices, established to serve Dubai and the northern emirates, were also constructed after the GCAA was established.
See also
[edit]
United Arab Emirates portal
Aviation portal
Azza Transport Flight 2241
UPS Flight 6
References
[edit]
^
"Contact Us". General Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved 2023-06-16. General Civil Aviation Authority 34 Saif Ghobash St - Al Rawdah - W58 - Abu Dhabi
^"Welcome to UAE General Civil Aviation Authority". Gcaa.gov.ae. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
^"Security Affairs". Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
^"Strategy & International Affairs". Gcaa.gov.ae. Retrieved 2018-02-12.
^GCAAIT. "Support Services". www.gcaa.gov.ae. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
^"AIR ACCIDENT PRELIMINARY REPORT BOEING 747-400F/N571UP GCAA ACCIDENT REPORT N° 13/2010." General Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved on 14 February 2012.
^"Contact Us." General Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved on 4 September 2010.
^Abu Dhabi Headquarter Location Map Archived 2016-03-15 at the Wayback Machine." General Civil Aviation Authority. Retrieved on 4 September 2010.
^"Welcome Message". Archived from the original on 2013-10-13. Retrieved 2014-06-22.
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About Arabian oryx
Species of antelope
Arabian oryx
Male in Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I [1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Artiodactyla
Family:
Bovidae
Subfamily:
Hippotraginae
Genus:
Oryx
Species:
O. leucoryx
Binomial name
Oryx leucoryx
(Pallas, 1777)
The Arabian oryx or white oryx (Oryx leucoryx) is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail.[2] It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus Oryx, native to desert and steppe areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx was extinct in the wild by the early 1970s, but was saved in zoos and private reserves, and was reintroduced into the wild starting in 1980.
In 1986, the Arabian oryx was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and in 2011, it was the first animal to revert to vulnerable status after previously being listed as extinct in the wild. It is listed in CITES Appendix I. In 2016, populations were estimated at 1,220 individuals in the wild, including 850 mature individuals, and 6,000–7,000 in captivity worldwide.[1]
Etymology
[edit]
The taxonomic name Oryx leucoryx is from the Greek orux (gazelle or antelope) and leukos (white). The Arabian oryx is also called the white oryx in English, dishon in Hebrew,[3] and is known as maha, wudhaihi, baqar al-wahsh, and boosolah in Arabic.[4]
Taxonomy
[edit]
The name "oryx" was introduced by Peter Simon Pallas in 1767 for the common eland as Antilope oryx. He also scientifically described the Arabian oryx as Oryx leucoryx, giving its range as "Arabia, and perhaps Libya". In 1816, Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville subdivided the antelope group, adopted Oryx as a genus name, and changed the species name Antilope oryx to Oryx gazella. In 1826, Martin Lichtenstein confused matters by transferring the name Oryx leucoryx to the scimitar oryx, now Oryx dammah. The Zoological Society of London obtained the first living individual in Europe in 1857. Not realizing this might be the Oryx leucoryx of previous authors, John Edward Gray proposed calling it Oryx beatrix after Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom. Oldfield Thomas renamed the scimitar oryx as Oryx algazal in 1903 and gave the Arabian oryx its original name.[4]
Description
[edit]
In Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve in Israel
The Arabian oryx' coat is an almost luminous white, the undersides and legs are brown, and black stripes occur where the head meets the neck, on the forehead, on the nose, and going from the horn down across the eye to the mouth. Both sexes have long, straight or slightly curved, ringed horns which are 0.61–1.49 m (2–4.9 ft). It stands between 0.79 and 1.25 m (2.6 and 4.1 ft) tall at the shoulder and typically weighs between 220 to 460 lb (100 to 209 kg).[5][2]
Distribution and habitat
[edit]
Historically, the Arabian oryx probably ranged throughout most of the Middle East. In the early 1800s, they could still be found in the Sinai, Palestine, the Transjordan, much of Iraq, and most of the Arabian Peninsula. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, their range was pushed back towards Saudi Arabia, and by 1914, only a few survived outside that country. A few were reported in Jordan into the 1930s, but by the mid-1930s, the only remaining populations were in the Nafud Desert in northwestern Saudi Arabia and the Rub' al Khali in the south.[2]
In the 1930s, Arabian princes and oil company clerks started hunting Arabian oryxes with automobiles and rifles. Hunts grew in size, and some were reported to employ as many as 300 vehicles. By the middle of the 20th century, the northern population was effectively extinct.[2] The last Arabian oryx in the wild before reintroduction was reported in 1972.[6]
Arabian oryxes prefer to range in gravel deserts or hard sand, where their speed and endurance will protect them from most predators and hunters on foot. In the sand deserts in Saudi Arabia, they used to be found in the hard sand areas of the flats between the softer dunes and ridges.[2]
Arabian oryxes have been reintroduced to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Syria, and Jordan. A small population was introduced on Hawar Island, Bahrain, and large semi-managed populations at several sites in Qatar and the UAE. The total reintroduced population is now estimated to be around 1,000. This puts the Arabian oryx well over the threshold of 250 mature individuals needed to qualify for endangered status. However, the majority of the population is concentrated in Saudi Arabia.[1]
Behaviour and ecology
[edit]
The Arabian oryx rests during the heat of the day. A herd in Oman can range over 3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi). Packs are of mixed sex and usually comprise between 2 and 15 induvials, though herds of up to 100 have been reported. Arabian oryxes are generally not aggressive toward one another, which allows herds to exist peacefully for some time.[7]
Feeding
[edit]
The diets of the Arabian oryx consist mainly of grasses, but it eats a large variety of vegetation, including buds, herbs, fruit, tubers and roots. Herds follow infrequent rains to eat the new plants that grow afterwards. They can go for several weeks without water.[7] In Oman, it primarily eats grasses of the genus Stipagrostis, flowers from Stipagrostis plants appeared highest in crude protein and water, while leaves seemed a better food source with other vegetation.[8]
Behavior
[edit]
When the Arabian oryx is not wandering its habitat or eating, it digs shallow depressions in the soft ground under shrubs or trees for resting. They can detect rainfall from a distance and follow in the direction of fresh plant growth. The number of individuals in a herd can vary greatly (up to 100 have been reported occasionally), but the average is 10 or fewer individuals.[9] Bachelor herds do not occur, and single territorial males are rare. Herds establish a straightforward hierarchy that involves all females and males above the age of about seven months.[10] Arabian oryxes tend to maintain visual contact with other herd members, with subordinate males taking positions between the main body of the herd and the outlying females. If separated, males will search areas where the herd last visited, settling into a solitary existence until the herd's return. Where water and grazing conditions permit, male Arabian oryxes establish territories. Bachelor males are solitary.[11] A dominance hierarchy is created within the herd by posturing displays, which avoid the danger of serious injury their long, sharp horns could potentially inflict. Males and females use their horns to defend the sparse territorial resources against interlopers.[12]
Adaptations for desert environments
[edit]
The Arabian oryx changes its physiology and behaviour at different times of the year to increase survival during times when food and water are in limited supply. During the summer, when droughts are common in the desert environments where it lives, the Arabian oryx will drastically reduce its minimal fasting metabolic rate by lying completely inactive beneath shade trees during the day and ranging over smaller areas at night to forage.[13] By letting its body temperature rise during the heat of the day, it uses less evaporative cooling and retains more body water, and at night, the cool night air lowers its temperature back to the normal range.[14] The oryx's arterial blood temperature is partly powered by a network of small arterial vessels with a large surface area called the rete mirabile, which branches from the two carotid arteries to the brain and allows for heat exchange between warm arterial blood and the cooler blood in the sinus cavities.[14] Because of these changes in behaviour and physiology, it was shown that Arabian oryx can reduce their urine volume, faecal water loss, and resting metabolic rate by at least 50%.[15]
The Arabian wolf is the Arabian oryx's only predator. In captivity and safe conditions in the wild, it has a maximum life span of up to 20 years.[11] In periods of drought, though, their life expectancy may be significantly reduced by malnutrition and dehydration. Other causes of death include fights between males, snakebites, disease, and drowning during floods.[16]
Importance to humans
[edit]
South Arabian fragment of a stela, depicts a reclining ibex and three Arabian oryx heads. The ibex was one of the most sacred animals in South Arabia, while the oryx antelope was associated with the god Attar, 5th century BC.
The Arabian oryx is the national animal of Jordan, Oman, the United Arab Emirates,[17] Bahrain, and Qatar.[18]
The Arabian oryx is also the namesake of several businesses on the Arabian peninsula, notably Al Maha Airways and Al Maha Petroleum.
In the King James Version of the Bible, the word re'em is translated as 'unicorn'. In Modern Hebrew, the name re'em lavan, meaning white oryx, is used in error for the scimitar-horned oryxes living in the sanctuary Yotvata Hai Bar near Eilat.[19] The scimitar oryx is called re'em Sahara. The Arabian name ri'ïm is the equivalent of the Hebrew name re'em, also meaning white oryx, suggesting a borrowing from the Early Modern Era.
A Qatari oryx named "Orry" was chosen as the official games mascot for the 2006 Asian Games in Doha,[20] and is shown on tailfins of planes belonging to Middle Eastern airline Qatar Airways.
Unicorn myth
[edit]
The myth of the one-horned unicorn may be based on oryxes that have lost one horn. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder held that the oryx was the unicorn's "prototype".[21] From certain angles, the oryx may seem to have one horn rather than two,[22][23] and given that its horns are made from hollow bone that cannot be regrown, if an Arabian oryx were to lose one of its horns, for the rest of its life, it would have only one.[21]
Another source for the concept may have originated from the translation of the Hebrew word re'em into Greek as μονόκερως, monokeros, in the Septuagint.[24] In Psalm 22:21, the word karen, meaning horn, is written in singular. The Roman Catholic Vulgata and the Douay-Rheims Bible translated re'em as rhinoceros; other translations are names for a wild bull, wild oxen, buffalo, or gaur, but in some languages, a word for unicorn is maintained. The Arabic translation alrim is the correct choice etymologically, meaning 'white oryx'.[25]
Conservation
[edit]
Main article: Arabian oryx reintroduction
Arabian oryx in Al Ain Zoo
The Phoenix Zoo and the Fauna and Flora Preservation Society of London (now Fauna and Flora International), with financial help from the World Wildlife Fund, are credited with saving the Arabian oryx from extinction. In 1962, these groups started the first captive-breeding herd in any zoo, at the Phoenix Zoo, sometimes referred to as "Operation Oryx".[26][27] Starting with nine animals, the Phoenix Zoo has had over 240 successful births. From Phoenix, Arabian oryxes were sent to other zoos and parks to start new herds.
In 1968, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, out of concern for the land's wildlife, particularly ungulates such as the Arabian oryx, founded the Al Ain Zoo to conserve them.[28]
Arabian oryxes were hunted to extinction in the wild by 1972. By 1980, the number of Arabian oryxes in captivity had increased to the point that Arabian oryx reintroduction was started. The first release, to Oman, was attempted with Arabian oryxes from the San Diego Wild Animal Park.[6] Although numbers in Oman have declined, there are now wild populations in Saudi Arabia and Israel,[29][30] as well. One of the largest populations is found in Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area, a large, fenced reserve in Saudi Arabia, covering more than 2,000 km2 (770 sq mi).[1]
On June 28, 2007, Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary was the first site ever to be removed from the UNESCO World Heritage List. UNESCO's reason for this was the Omani government's decision to open 90% of the site to oil prospecting. The Arabian oryx population on the site has been reduced from 450 in 1996 to only 65 in 2007. At that time, there were fewer than four breeding pairs left on the site.[31][needs update]
In June 2011, the Arabian oryx was relisted as vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. The IUCN estimated there were more than 1,200 Arabian oryx in the wild as of 4 December 2020[update] 2016, with 6,000–7,000 held in captivity worldwide in zoos, preserves, and private collections. Some of these are in large, fenced enclosures (free-roaming), including those in Syria (Al Talila), Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE.[1] This is the first time the IUCN has reclassified a species as vulnerable after it had been listed as extinct in the wild.[32] The Arabian oryx is also listed in CITES Appendix I.[1]
References
[edit]
^ abcdefg
IUCN SSC Antelope Specialist Group (2017). "Oryx leucoryx". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017 e.T15569A50191626. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T15569A50191626.en. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
^ abcdeTalbot, L. M. (1960). A Look at Threatened Species. The Fauna Preservation Society. pp. 84–91.
^Slifkin, Nathan, The Torah encyclopedia of the Animal kingdom, vol.1, OU Press, New York, 2015, pp.272-275
^ ab"Conservation Programme for Arabian Oryx: Taxonomy & description". National Wildlife Research Center. 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
^"Oryx". Animals & Plants. San Diego Zoo. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
^ abStanley-Price, Mark (July–August 1982). "The Yalooni Transfer". Saudi Aramco World. Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 31 December 2012.
^ abMassicot, P. (2007). "Arabian Oryx". Animal Info. Archived from the original on 25 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-11.
^Spalton, J. A. (1999). "The food supply of Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) in the desert of Oman". Journal of Zoology. 248 (4): 433–441. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb01043.x.
^Leu, H. (2001) "Oryx leucoryx" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web.
^How to go wild. New Scientist (1989-10-28). Retrieved on 2013-01-01.
^ ab"Arabian Oryx". The Phoenix Zoo. Archived from the original on 15 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
^BBC (2012-04-27). Science & Nature – Wildfacts – Arabian oryx. Retrieved on 2013-01-01.
^Williams, J. B.; Ostrowski, S.; Bedin, E.; Ismail, K. (2001). "Seasonal variation in energy expenditure, water flux and food consumption of Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx". Journal of Experimental Biology. 204 (13): 2301–2311. Bibcode:2001JExpB.204.2301W. doi:10.1242/jeb.204.13.2301. PMID 11507113.
^ ab"Animals at the extremes: The desert environment". June 10, 2019. Archived from the original on 2017-01-05. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
^Ostrowski, S.; Williams, J. B.; Mésochina, P.; Sauerwein, H. (2005). "Physiological acclimation of a desert antelope, Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), to long-term food and water restriction". Journal of Comparative Physiology B. 176 (3): 191–201. doi:10.1007/s00360-005-0040-0. PMID 16283332. S2CID 14680361.
^"The Oryx Facts". The Arabian Oryx Project. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-27.
^"The UAE National Symbols..." TEACH United Arab Emirates. 2 (2). Jess Jumeira School. Nov–Dec 2014.
^Orr, Tamra (30 June 2008). Qatar. Marshall Cavendish. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-7614-2566-3. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
^The Arabian Oryx Project – Timeline. oryxoman.com
^Phoenix Zoo Species Survival Plan Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine. Phoenixzoo.org (2006-01-03). Retrieved on 2013-01-01.
^"History". Al Ain Zoo. 15 October 2017. Retrieved 2019-03-18.
^Saltz, D. (1998). "A long-term systematic approach to planning reintroductions: the Persian fallow deer and the Arabian oryx in Israel". Animal Conservation. 1 (4): 245. Bibcode:1998AnCon...1..245S. doi:10.1111/j.1469-1795.1998.tb00035.x. S2CID 85943063.
^Gilad, O.; Grant, W.E. & Saltz, D. (2008). "Simulated dynamics of Arabian Oryx (Oryx leucoryx) in the Israeli Negev: Effects of migration corridors and post-reintroduction changes in natality on population viability". Ecological Modelling. 210 (1–2): 169. Bibcode:2008EcMod.210..169G. doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2007.07.015.
^"Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary: first site ever to be deleted from UNESCO's World Heritage List". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-16.
^Platt, John (17 June 2011). "Arabian Oryx Makes History as First Species to Be Upgraded from "Extinct in the Wild" to "Vulnerable"". scientificamerican.com. Retrieved 20 June 2011.
Further reading
[edit]
Silverberg, Robert (1967). The Auk, the Dodo, and the Oryx: Vanished and Vanishing Creatures. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. LCCN 67002554. L.C. Card AC 67-10476.
External links
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oryx leucoryx (category)
Wikispecies has information related to Oryx leucoryx.
Images and movies of the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx) at Arkive
Living Desert article
Arabian Oryx at Al Wabra Wildlife Preserve
Oryx leucoryx on Animal Diversity Web
Oryx leucoryx on Mammal Species of the World
v
t
e
Extant Artiodactyla species
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Eutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
Suborder Ruminantia
Antilocapridae
Antilocapra
Pronghorn (A. americana)
Giraffidae
Okapia
Okapi (O. johnstoni)
Giraffa
Northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis)
Southern giraffe (G. giraffa)
Reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata)
Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi)
Moschidae
Moschus
Anhui musk deer (M. anhuiensis)
Dwarf musk deer (M. berezovskii)
Alpine musk deer (M. chrysogaster)
Kashmir musk deer (M. cupreus)
Black musk deer (M. fuscus)
Himalayan musk deer (M. leucogaster)
Siberian musk deer (M. moschiferus)
Tragulidae
Hyemoschus
Water chevrotain (H. aquaticus)
Moschiola
Indian spotted chevrotain (M. indica)
Yellow-striped chevrotain (M. kathygre)
Sri Lankan spotted chevrotain (M. meminna)
Tragulus
Java mouse-deer (T. javanicus)
Lesser mouse-deer (T. kanchil)
Greater mouse-deer (T. napu)
Philippine mouse-deer (T. nigricans)
Vietnam mouse-deer (T. versicolor)
Williamson's mouse-deer (T. williamsoni)
Cervidae
Large family listed below
Bovidae
Large family listed below
Family Cervidae
Cervinae
Muntiacus
Bornean yellow muntjac (M. atherodes)
Hairy-fronted muntjac (M. crinifrons)
Fea's muntjac (M. feae)
Gongshan muntjac (M. gongshanensis)
Sumatran muntjac (M. montanus)
Southern red muntjac (M. muntjak)
Pu Hoat muntjac (M. puhoatensis)
Leaf muntjac (M. putaoensis)
Reeves's muntjac (M. reevesi)
Roosevelt's muntjac (M. rooseveltorum)
Truong Son muntjac (M. truongsonensis)
Northern red muntjac (M. vaginalis)
Giant muntjac (M. vuquangensis)
Elaphodus
Tufted deer (E. cephalophus)
Dama
European fallow deer (D. dama)
Persian fallow deer (D. mesopotamica)
Axis
Chital (A. axis)
Calamian deer (A. calamianensis)
Bawean deer (A. kuhlii)
Hog deer (A. porcinus)
Rucervus
Barasingha (R. duvaucelii)
Eld's deer (R. eldii)
Elaphurus
Père David's deer (E. davidianus)
Rusa
Visayan spotted deer (R. alfredi)
Philippine sambar (R. mariannus)
Rusa deer (R. timorensis)
Sambar (R. unicolor)
Cervus
Thorold's deer (C. albirostris)
Red deer (C. elaphus)
Elk (C. canadensis)
Central Asian red deer (C. hanglu)
Sika deer (C. nippon)
Capreolinae
Alces
Moose (A. alces)
Hydropotes
Water deer (H. inermis)
Capreolus
European roe deer (C. capreolus)
Siberian roe deer (C. pygargus)
Rangifer
Reindeer (R. tarandus)
Hippocamelus
Taruca (H. antisensis)
South Andean deer (H. bisulcus)
Mazama
Red brocket (M. americana)
Small red brocket (M. bororo)
Merida brocket (M. bricenii)
Dwarf brocket (M. chunyi)
Pygmy brocket (M. nana)
Amazonian brown brocket (M. nemorivaga)
Little red brocket (M. rufina)
Central American red brocket (M. temama)
Ozotoceros
Pampas deer (O. bezoarticus)
Blastocerus
Marsh deer (B. dichotomus)
Pudu
Northern pudu (P. mephistophiles)?
Southern pudu (P. pudu)
Pudella
Peruvian Yungas pudu (P. carlae)
Northern pudu (P. mephistophiles)
Odocoileus
Mule deer (O. hemionus)
Yucatan brown brocket (O. pandora)
White-tailed deer (O. virginianus)
Subulo
Gray brocket (S. gouazoubira)
Family Bovidae
Hippotraginae
Hippotragus
Roan antelope (H. equinus)
Sable antelope (H. niger)
Oryx
East African oryx (O. beisa)
Scimitar oryx (O. dammah)
Gemsbok (O. gazella)
Arabian oryx (O. leucoryx)
Addax
Addax (A. nasomaculatus)
Reduncinae
Kobus
Waterbuck (K. ellipsiprymnus)
Kob (K. kob)
Lechwe (K. leche)
Nile lechwe (K. megaceros)
Puku (K. vardonii)
Redunca
Southern reedbuck (R. arundinum)
Mountain reedbuck (R. fulvorufula)
Bohor reedbuck (R. redunca)
Aepycerotinae
Aepyceros
Impala (A. melampus)
Peleinae
Pelea
Grey rhebok (P. capreolus)
Alcelaphinae
Beatragus
Hirola (B. hunteri)
Damaliscus
Common tsessebe (D. lunatus)
Bontebok (D. pygargus)
Alcelaphus
Hartebeest (A. buselaphus)
Connochaetes
Black wildebeest (C. gnou)
Blue wildebeest (C. taurinus)
Pantholopinae
Pantholops
Tibetan antelope (P. hodgsonii)
Caprinae
Large subfamily listed below
Bovinae
Large subfamily listed below
Antilopinae
Large subfamily listed below
Family Bovidae (subfamily Caprinae)
Ammotragus
Barbary sheep (A. lervia)
Arabitragus
Arabian tahr (A. jayakari)
Budorcas
Takin (B. taxicolor)
Capra
Wild goat (C. aegagrus)
West Caucasian tur (C. caucasia)
East Caucasian tur (C. cylindricornis)
Markhor (C. falconeri)
Domestic goat (C. hircus)
Alpine ibex (C. ibex)
Nubian ibex (C. nubiana)
Iberian ibex (C. pyrenaica)
Siberian ibex (C. sibirica)
Walia ibex (C. walie)
Capricornis
Japanese serow (C. crispus)
Red serow (C. rubidus)
Mainland serow (C. sumatraensis)
Taiwan serow (C. swinhoei)
Hemitragus
Himalayan tahr (H. jemlahicus)
Naemorhedus
Red goral (N. baileyi)
Long-tailed goral (N. caudatus)
Himalayan goral (N. goral)
Chinese goral (N. griseus)
Oreamnos
Mountain goat (O. americanus)
Ovibos
Muskox (O. moschatus)
Nilgiritragus
Nilgiri tahr (N. hylocrius)
Ovis
Argali (O. ammon)
Domestic sheep (O. aries)
Bighorn sheep (O. canadensis)
Dall sheep (O. dalli)
Mouflon (O. gmelini)
Snow sheep (O. nivicola)
Urial (O. vignei)
Pseudois
Bharal (P. nayaur)
Rupicapra
Pyrenean chamois (R. pyrenaica)
Chamois (R. rupicapra)
Family Bovidae (subfamily Bovinae)
Boselaphini
Tetracerus
Four-horned antelope (T. quadricornis)
Boselaphus
Nilgai (B. tragocamelus)
Bovini
Bubalus
Wild water buffalo (B. arnee)
Domestic water buffalo (B. bubalis)
Lowland anoa (B. depressicornis)
Tamaraw (B. mindorensis)
Mountain anoa (B. quarlesi)
Bos
American bison (B. bison)
European bison (B. bonasus)
Bali cattle (B. domesticus)
Gayal (B. frontalis)
Gaur (B. gaurus)
Domestic yak (B. grunniens)
Zebu (B. indicus)
Banteng (B. javanicus)
Wild yak (B. mutus)
Cattle (B. taurus)
Pseudoryx
Saola (P. nghetinhensis)
Syncerus
African buffalo (S. caffer)
Tragelaphini
Tragelaphus (including kudus)
Nyala (T. angasii)
Mountain nyala (T. buxtoni)
Bongo (T. eurycerus)
Lesser kudu (T. imberbis)
Harnessed bushbuck (T. scriptus)
Sitatunga (T. spekeii)
Greater kudu (T. strepsiceros)
Cape bushbuck (T. sylvaticus)
Taurotragus
Giant eland (T. derbianus)
Common eland (T. oryx)
Family Bovidae (subfamily Antilopinae)
Antilopini
Ammodorcas
Dibatag (A. clarkei)
Antidorcas
Springbok (A. marsupialis)
Antilope
Blackbuck (A. cervicapra)
Eudorcas
Mongalla gazelle (E. albonotata)
Red-fronted gazelle (E. rufifrons)
Thomson's gazelle (E. thomsonii)
Heuglin's gazelle (E. tilonura)
Gazella
Arabian gazelle (G. arabica)
Chinkara (G. bennettii)
Cuvier's gazelle (G. cuvieri)
Dorcas gazelle (G. dorcas)
Mountain gazelle (G. gazella)
Rhim gazelle (G. leptoceros)
Speke's gazelle (G. spekei)
Goitered gazelle (G. subgutturosa)
Litocranius
Gerenuk (L. walleri)
Nanger
Dama gazelle (N. dama)
Grant's gazelle (N. granti)
Bright's gazelle (N. notatus)
Peter's gazelle (N. petersii)
Soemmerring's gazelle (N. soemmerringii)
Procapra
Mongolian gazelle (P. gutturosa)
Goa (P. picticaudata)
Przewalski's gazelle (P. przewalskii)
Saigini
Saiga
Saiga antelope (S. tatarica)
Neotragini
Dorcatragus
Beira (D. megalotis)
Madoqua
Günther's dik-dik (M. guentheri)
Kirk's dik-dik (M. kirkii)
Silver dik-dik (M. piacentinii)
Salt's dik-dik (M. saltiana)
Neotragus
Royal antelope (N. pygmaeus)
Nesotragus
Bates' pygmy antelope (N. batesi)
Suni (N. moschatus)
Oreotragus
Klipspringer (O. oreotragus)
Ourebia
Oribi (O. ourebi)
Raphicerus
Steenbok (R. campestris)
Cape grysbok (R. melanotis)
Sharpe's grysbok (R. sharpei)
Cephalophini
Cephalophus
Aders's duiker (C. adersi)
Brooke's duiker (C. brookei)
Peters' duiker (C. callipygus)
White-legged duiker (C. crusalbum)
Bay duiker (C. dorsalis)
Harvey's duiker (C. harveyi)
Jentink's duiker (C. jentinki)
White-bellied duiker (C. leucogaster)
Red forest duiker (C. natalensis)
Black duiker (C. niger)
Black-fronted duiker (C. nigrifrons)
Ogilby's duiker (C. ogilbyi)
Ruwenzori duiker (C. rubidis)
Red-flanked duiker (C. rufilatus)
Yellow-backed duiker (C. silvicultor)
Abbott's duiker (C. spadix)
Weyns's duiker (C. weynsi)
Zebra duiker (C. zebra)
Philantomba
Blue duiker (P. monticola)
Maxwell's duiker (P. maxwellii)
Walter's duiker (P. walteri)
Sylvicapra
Common duiker (S. grimmia)
Suborder Suina
Suidae
Babyrousa
Buru babirusa (B. babyrussa)
North Sulawesi babirusa (B. celebensis)
Togian babirusa (B. togeanensis)
Hylochoerus
Giant forest hog (H. meinertzhageni)
Phacochoerus
Desert warthog (P. aethiopicus)
Common warthog (P. africanus)
Porcula
Pygmy hog (P. salvania)
Potamochoerus
Bushpig (P. larvatus)
Red river hog (P. porcus)
Sus
Palawan bearded pig (S. ahoenobarbus)
Bornean bearded pig (S. barbatus)
Visayan warty pig (S. cebifrons)
Celebes warty pig (S. celebensis)
Domestic pig (S. domesticus)
Flores warty pig (S. heureni)
Oliver's warty pig (S. oliveri)
Philippine warty pig (S. philippensis)
Wild boar (S. scrofa)
Timor warty pig (S. timoriensis)
Javan warty pig (S. verrucosus)
Tayassuidae
Tayassu
White-lipped peccary (T. pecari)
Catagonus
Chacoan peccary (C. wagneri)
Dicotyles
Collared peccary (D. tajacu)
Suborder Tylopoda
Camelidae
Lama
Llama (L. glama)
Guanaco (L. guanicoe)
Alpaca (L. pacos)
Vicuña (L. vicugna)
Camelus
Domestic Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus)
Dromedary/Arabian camel (C. dromedarius)
Wild Bactrian camel (C. ferus)
Suborder Whippomorpha
Hippopotamidae
Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus (H. amphibius)
Choeropsis
Pygmy hippopotamus (C. liberiensis)
Cetacea
see Cetacea
Taxon identifiers
Oryx leucoryx
Wikidata: Q237286
Wikispecies: Oryx leucoryx
ADW: Oryx_leucoryx
BioLib: 33673
BOLD: 462409
CoL: 7W6P2
ECOS: 767
EoL: 331080
EPPO: ORYXLE
GBIF: 5220164
iNaturalist: 42309
IRMNG: 10228200
ITIS: 625181
IUCN: 15569
MDD: 1006240
MSW: 14200958
NCBI: 39411
Observation.org: 86132
Open Tree of Life: 376064
Paleobiology Database: 149597
Species+: 4154
TSA: 12516
Xeno-canto: Oryx-leucoryx
Authority control databases: National
Israel
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