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05th Jan 2017

PICS: Dublin Zoo Has A New Baby Animal In Its Ranks, One Which Is Fearing Extinction In The Wild

katedemolder

Love it or loathe it, Dublin Zoo is teaching us something new everyday. 

The Phoenix Park based Zoo is celebrating the birth of a male scimitar-horned oryx, a species classified as extinct in the wild.

Born December 8, the newest addition is the fourth member of the Dublin 8 herd. 

And look how gorrrrrggggeeee he is!

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Scimitar Horned Oryx Calf Dublin Zoo Large
Zzzscimitar Horned Oryx Calf Dublin Zoo Large

Photo cred: Dublin Zoo

That particular breed of oryx was once easily spotted across northern Africa but due to poaching and competition with domestic livestock – their presence has been noticeably absent from the wild for more than 15 years.

Buuuut, it’s not all bad news…

Dublin Zoo has financially supported the reintroduction programme for the scimitar-horned oryx in Tunisia since 2013. Through these conservation breeding programmes, zoo-bred oryx have been reintroduced into semi-wild areas in four national parks across Tunisia. 

And because of this, currently there are over 200 oryx in such semi-wild areas.

Hurray! 

G’job Dublin Zoo.

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