05/29/2026
A family of Scimitar-horned Orx (Oryx dammah).
There certain areas of Texas back roads where one can find exotic game ranches. Interestingly there are more exotic game ranches in Texas than you might think.
The Scimitar-horned Orx was native to North Africa. In 2000 they were declared extincpt in the wild.
Typical human stuff, over hunting, depletion of wild habitat.
In 2023 they were down listed to endangered due to a 2016 repopulation effort in Chad.
The Scimitar-horned Orx used in the program were flown from breeding populations managed in United Arab Emirates, and in part that world heard was populated from Zoos, conservation centers and private game ranches from around the world, including private ranches in Texas. Fossil Rim Wildlife Center was a major Texas player in that effort.
By the 2000s, there were more scimitar-horned oryx in Texas than anywhere else in the world. Those populations preserved genetic diversity and kept the species from total extinction.
.........
Canon USA
