Rare oryx to make a point for Omani ecotourism
The Arabian oryx is thriving in a sanctuary that doubles as a means to diversify the sultanate’s economy
Oman is opening a sprawling ecotourism sanctuary for the Arabian oryx.
Once extinct in the wild, the rare antelope known for its elegant horns has been dragged back from the precipice in a reserve fenced off from the public for decades.
That changed last month when authorities opened the sanctuary to visitors as part of a bid by Oman to boost tourism as oil revenues decline.
Wildlife rangers in 4x4s vehicles patrol the sandy plains of the reserve in central Oman’s Haima province, watching groups of grazing oryx and other indigenous species.
For years, the main goal has been to ensure the oryx survive by focusing on “helping the animals here reproduce and multiply”, sanctuary spokesman Hamed Al Harsousi says.
But now, as numbers have picked up from only 100 two decades ago to almost 750 today, the authorities began to consider another role for the reserve.
“There has been more interest in its tourism potential, to take advantage of its uniqueness and rare animals,” Mr Al Harsousi says.
The story of the Arabian oryx, sometimes referred to as the Arabian unicorn because of its distinctive profile, is one of miraculous survival. The last wild Arabian oryx was killed in Oman by poachers in 1972.
But the oryx managed to cling on thanks to a captive breeding programme, and in the early 1980s a batch of 10 were released into Oman’s Arabian Oryx Sanctuary.
Since then, ensuring the future of the oryx has often been a precarious process.
The Omani sanctuary sprawls over 2,824 square kilometre of diverse terrain, from flat plains to rocky slopes and sandy dunes, but the fate of the sanctuary has been nearly as tortured as that of the oryx it is home to.
In 2007, the sanctuary became the first place to be removed from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s World Heritage list as the government of Oman turned most of the land over to oil drilling.
But as oil prices plunged over the past few years, the wildlife has again become a priority for the authorities.
Mr Al Harsousi puts the number of Arabian oryx in the sanctuary at 742 and says that other species are also flourishing.
“In the past three years we have been able to increase the number of the Arabian gazelle, known as sand gazelles, from 300 to about 850,” he says.
There are also 12 species of trees that provide a habitat for a variety of birds.
Oman has been trying to turn itself into a tourist attraction, pitching its beach resorts to luxury travellers and desert wilderness to the more adventurous.
A major tourism plan is expected to be announced within weeks, and those working at the oryx sanctuary hope it can play a lead role in attracting visitors to the country. But there are also fears that greater openness could see the return of the old foe – poachers. With that in mind security is being kept tight, says Abdullah Obaid, a wildlife guard at the reserve.
“Thirty guards and a police patrol are working to provide security in the reserve to prevent any infiltration,” Mr Obaid said.
The Arabian oryx and a host of other flora and fauna are flourishing in the reserve and are hoped to attract tourists