The effort of the UAE to conserve wild animals from extinction at the Sir Bani Yas Island nature reserve has been praised by world animal conservationists.
The once-threatened Arabian Oryx is among the animals thriving at the reserve, which is home to one of the largest populations of the animal in the world, with a herd of about 500 free to roam the sanctuary. The animals once roamed most of the Arabian Peninsula but rampant hunting meant that for many years they survived only in captivity, according to the UAE News Agency "WAM".
The Oryx is just one of several species that have been brought back from the brink of extinction at the reserve, which is off the Abu Dhabi coast. There are 25 species of mammal and 170 different types of birds, making a total population of 13,000 animals at the 1,400 hectare reserve.
The sanctuary was an initiative of the UAE’s founder His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who started bringing animals to Sir Bani Yas in 1971, WAM reported.