Thursday, June 23, 2011

Oryx: The "Arabian Unicorn"

From the side, with their luminous white coats and the appearance of a single horn, it’s easy to see where the Arabian oryx got its nickname. Historically common throughout the Middle East, the oryx, a type of antelope, was driven to extinction in the wild in the early 1970’s.
Photo: National Geographic
However, National Geographic is reporting that wild Arabian oryx numbers have now surpassed 1000, marking the first time in history that an animal once extinct in the wild has recovered to the point of no longer being considered endangered. Hopefully, this and other future conservation efforts will be able to help pull even more amazing species’ of animals back from the brink of extinction!

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