Environment Agency Abu Dhabi has attached tracking collars to 18 scimitar-horned oryxes, enabling conservationists to monitor their behaviour more closely. Photo: Environment Agency Abu Dhabi
Environment Agency Abu Dhabi has attached tracking collars to 18 scimitar-horned oryxes, enabling conservationists to monitor their behaviour more closely. Photo: Environment Agency Abu Dhabi
Environment Agency Abu Dhabi has attached tracking collars to 18 scimitar-horned oryxes, enabling conservationists to monitor their behaviour more closely. Photo: Environment Agency Abu Dhabi
Environment Agency Abu Dhabi has attached tracking collars to 18 scimitar-horned oryxes, enabling conservationists to monitor their behaviour more closely. Photo: Environment Agency Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi sends critically endangered animals to Chad


Sarah Forster
  • English
  • Arabic

Environment Agency Abu Dhabi has completed its mission to relocate 25 scimitar-horned oryxes and 25 addax antelopes to Chad.

It plans to send another 25 oryxes in February and all of the animals will be released into the wild.

The programme is part of one of the world’s largest reintroduction programmes.

Launched in 2014, it is intended to create a self-sustaining herd of more than 500 scimitar-horned oryxes in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Wildlife Reserve, which occupies 77,950 square kilometres.

The EAD plans to send another 25 oryxes in February and all of the animals will be released into the wild. Photo: Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi
The EAD plans to send another 25 oryxes in February and all of the animals will be released into the wild. Photo: Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi

In 2000, the species was declared extinct in the wild by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The first ones to be relocated were released into the wild in 2016 and have adapted well to their surroundings.

In 2017, another heard of 75 scimitar-horned oryxes arrived in an operation led by Chad’s Ministry of Environment and Fisheries and the Sahara Conservation Fund.

This year, 60 new calves have been born, bringing the number in the wild to about 400.

This particular breed of oryx can survive for months or even years without drinking water. A grazing animal, it derives most of its daily moisture intake from plants.

The second phase of the programme concerns the critically endangered addax.

This arid-land antelope is very well adapted to living in the Sahara, and rarely needs to drink water to survive. But its impressive horns, meat and hide are attractive to poachers, and the animal’s population has plummeted during the past century.

The first group, of 15 animals, was reintroduced in 2019, followed by 25 in 2020. Fifteen calves were born this year.

It was the late Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, who first noticed the rapid decline of scimitar-horned oryxes in the wild during the 1960s. Photo: Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi
It was the late Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, who first noticed the rapid decline of scimitar-horned oryxes in the wild during the 1960s. Photo: Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi

“We will always continue the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed, who pioneered the SHO reintroduction programme, the first of its kind anywhere in the world,” said Dr Shaikha Al Dhaheri, secretary general of Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

“It is saddening to see species becoming extinct and we at EAD [the agency] will do everything in our capacity to reverse this.”

Environment Agency Abu Dhabi has darted 18 wild scimitar-horned oryxes and fitted them with satellite tracking collars. This has enabled the agency to monitor the species behaviour, including reproduction.

“Next month, we will be releasing both scimitar-horned oryxes and addaxes in Chad in collaboration with our partners, who are truly invested in ensuring the project’s success, and we are on track to establish a herd of 500 of the oryxes in the wild.

“Our efforts will continue next year, and we are expecting the birth of more calves, which will help to increase herd sizes and curb the rapid decline of these species.”

Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, first noticed the rapid decline of scimitar-horned oryxes in the wild during the 1960s.

He ordered the creation of a captive breeding programme, to be piloted in the UAE. The animals were housed on Sir Bani Yas Island, where their number eventually exceeded 1,000.

Their conservation is supported by several prominent global partners, including Chad’s Ministry of Environment, the EU, the Sahara Conservation Fund, the Zoological Society of London, the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Marwell Wildlife, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, Saint Louis Zoo WildCare Institute and Fossil Rim Wildlife Centre.

Critically endangered species: in pictures

  • Here are 10 species from around the world that the WWF lists as 'critically endangered'. African forest elephant. Getty Images
    Here are 10 species from around the world that the WWF lists as 'critically endangered'. African forest elephant. Getty Images
  • Amur leopard. Alamy
    Amur leopard. Alamy
  • Black rhino. Getty Images
    Black rhino. Getty Images
  • Bornean orangutan. Getty Images
    Bornean orangutan. Getty Images
  • Cross river gorilla. Alamy
    Cross river gorilla. Alamy
  • Eastern lowland gorilla. Alamy
    Eastern lowland gorilla. Alamy
  • Hawksbill turtle. Getty Images
    Hawksbill turtle. Getty Images
  • Javan rhino. Alamy
    Javan rhino. Alamy
  • Orangutan. Getty Images
    Orangutan. Getty Images
  • Saola. Handout
    Saola. Handout
2.0

Director: S Shankar

Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films

Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

War 2

Director: Ayan Mukerji

Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana

Rating: 2/5

Neil Thomson – THE BIO

Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.

Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.

Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.

Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.

Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.

Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.

Ruwais timeline

1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established

1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants

1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed

1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.  

1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex

2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea

2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd

2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens

2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies

2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export

2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.

2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery 

2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital

2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13

Source: The National

Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

Desert Warrior

Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley

Director: Rupert Wyatt

Rating: 3/5

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

JAPAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa

 

 

Sheer grandeur

The Owo building is 14 storeys high, seven of which are below ground, with the 30,000 square feet of amenities located subterranean, including a 16-seat private cinema, seven lounges, a gym, games room, treatment suites and bicycle storage.

A clear distinction between the residences and the Raffles hotel with the amenities operated separately.

Updated: December 22, 2021, 4:21 AM