Note: This content was published more than 3 years ago.

Scimitar-Horned Oryx Return to the Wild

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute Collecting Tracking Data on Reintroduced Oryx

Related Species:

Scimitar-horned oryx

Image Gallery

oryx running in the wild
John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
After each scimitar-horned oryx was fitted with a collar, it was released back into the large yard
Photo Credit: John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
the oryx collaring team
Photo Credit: John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
For the first time in 30 years, scimitar-horned oryx are home in Chad
Photo Credit: John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
SCBI postdoc Jared Stabach helps prepare GPS collars to fit on 21 oryx.
Photo Credit: John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
Before fitting the animals with GPS collars, the team had to make sure that all of the collars were functioning properly
John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
Smithsonian scientist Jared Stabach collaring an oryx
John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
Scientists examining the teeth of an oryx about to be released
John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
oryx running in the wild
John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
a herd of oryx with collars running in the wild
John Newby, Sahara Conservation Fund
oryx running in the wild
After each scimitar-horned oryx was fitted with a collar, it was released back into the large yard
the oryx collaring team
For the first time in 30 years, scimitar-horned oryx are home in Chad
SCBI postdoc Jared Stabach helps prepare GPS collars to fit on 21 oryx.
Before fitting the animals with GPS collars, the team had to make sure that all of the collars were functioning properly
Smithsonian scientist Jared Stabach collaring an oryx
Scientists examining the teeth of an oryx about to be released
oryx running in the wild
a herd of oryx with collars running in the wild

Continue Exploring

August 14, 2026

How Zoo Science Is Rewriting the Scimitar-Horned Oryx's Story ›

Once pushed to the brink of extinction, the oryx is becoming one of conservation's most inspirational stories.
January 08, 2025

A Snow Day at the Zoo ›

Several inches of snowfall kept the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute closed to visitors, but the animals and their caretakers still had a good time!
February 21, 2024

Restoring Scimitar-horned Oryx ›

Twenty-three years after being declared “extinct in the wild”, the scimitar-horned oryx has made a remarkable comeback. Smithsonian ecologist Katherine Mertes shares how the species reached the turning point.