Resort releases eight oryx to breed

Ras Al Khaimah // The Banyan Tree Al Wadi Resort has eight new Arabian oryx for its nature reserve.

Six females aged between four and six, and two males aged three and five, will join four male oryx that were released there in April last year from Al Ain Wildlife Park.

There is a "100 per cent guarantee" the oryx will breed in the coming winter months, said Ryan Ingram, the recreation manager at the resort.

"Within one year we will have youngsters for sure," Mr Ingram said. "They don't have a problem breeding in this environment.

"We're releasing them into the wild to do their own thing. The whole purpose behind that is to let natural selection take place. We let nature do the planning."

The breeding season begins with the cool weather and increases in intensity in the cooler months.

It is hoped that some of the females may already be pregnant.

The Arabian oryx is indigenous to the Arabian Peninsula but has not been seen in the RAK wild for decades.

The medium-sized antelope is classified as "vulnerable" on the World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species.

The eight new oryx were bred in captivity at Al Bustan Zoological Centre.

Their new home is a 200-hectare protected area.