Reintroduction

"With reintroduced populations in Chad, Tunisia, and Morocco, the wild oryx has risen in number from a whopping zero to around 600 animals, each bearing a remarkably-high amount of genetic diversity for a species once considered Extinct in the Wild.

The secret to that genetic heritage was a small number of concerned, well-to-do citizens who took action during the antelope’s downfall. These include a group of West Texas ranchers who learned in the 1970s that these animals were going extinct and decided to front up what must have been not-insubstantial funds to transfer some to Texas where they have settled brilliantly, and grown to a larger number (some 12,000, it’s estimated) than ever even existed in Africa.

Other benefactors include the far-sighted Englishman John Knowles, who established Britain’s first zoological collection specifically for breeding endangered animals at the 400-acre estate of Marwell Hall. Here, despite their Saharan birth, the scimitar-horned oryx thrived in captivity.

Marwell is the keeper of the scimitar-horned oryx studbook, a sort of thoroughbred racehorse record for the oryx. As the animals shuffled around various zoos in Europe, the studbook ensured that inbreeding was avoided, and that it lineages with healthy and robust genetic heritage could be tracked.

Today, the studbook lists 3,295 animals in 182 zoos and institutions, and Marwell is now conducting some studies on the US-based oryx for the purpose of seeing how more genes could be introduced to the breeding pool.

Combined with those individuals in Texas and a small herd maintained by royal family of Abu Dhabi, the number and natural diversity meant it was only a matter of time before the species returned to the Sahara.

As it now has; and how. In March of 2016, in one of the world’s largest solitary conservation landscapes called the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve, a cargo plane touched down in Chad with 25 specially-chosen oryx from what the BBC described as a “World Herd”—individuals handpicked from the US, Europe, UK, and Abu Dhabi that would have the highest chance of surviving and breeding.

“The first phase of the operation has been a success. We’ve got the animals back into the wild, they’re breeding, they are pretty secure,” John Newby, who prepared a habitat assessment in the Republic of Ireland-sized Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Faunal Reserve, told the BBC." - Good News Network: ‘Extinct’ Graceful Oryx Thriving in the Saharan Wilds Thanks to Decades of Captive Breeding 

Food for Predators

Oryx provide food for carnivores including cheetahs and African wolves "Without them you're missing something fundamental from the ecosystem."  - BBC: The Extinct Antelope Bringing Hope in the Sahara Desert 

Problems with Oryx

Invasive Species

"The New Mexico Game and Fish Department first introduced the South African oryx—also known as the gemsbok (Oryx gazella)—to the Tularosa Basin starting in 1969 as a game species. Dozens were released over the next few years, and this relatively small initial population took off.

“They are this classic invasive,” said TWS member Casey Wagnon. “It still remains pretty elusive how to manage [them], because recreational opportunities and revenue generation are at odds with ecosystems impacts and human-oryx conflicts.”

They began to expand into the Jornada Basin, and perhaps beyond, though large-scale surveys are still needed to learn more about their distribution. There are now an estimated several thousand oryx in New Mexico.

“They are highly adapted to the Chihuahua Desert,” Wagnon said. 

Researchers don’t fully understand the kinds of effects the newcomers may have on the native ecosystem. But some are starting to believe they might be detrimental."  - Wildlife: Rising Oryx Numbers May Distress New Mexico Ecosystem

Competition & Habitat Destruction

"Cattle have threatened the desert grass ecosystem found in some parts of the Chihuahua Desert for some time. When the grasses are overgrazed, shrubs begin to take over the land, rendering the landscape unsuitable for cattle and other species that depend on grassland ecosystems.

Oryx may outcompete more than just cattle. Their diet overlaps with native species like pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). Based on their larger size, and the weapons they wield in the form of nearly three-foot-long horns, they could outcompete these ungulates for water and food, said TWS member Hunter Prude, a wildlife biologist at Turner Biodiversity’s Armendaris Ranch in New Mexico, where oryx numbers are growing.

Wildlife managers at the ranch are concerned. As a way to mitigate some of the effects of drought, they provide artificial water sources for wildlife. But Prude said they are concerned this may also provide an avenue for the oryx to expand. Some efforts are underway to find ways to manipulate these drinking stations to exclude oryx while still allowing access to the native species.

What’s certain is that pronghorn are declining in the ranch, Prude said. But it’s not yet clear whether oryx are outcompeting them or if drought is causing a drop in pronghorn numbers. “Unfortunately, in this region, it’s just the rangeland itself that is imperiled because of climate change,” Prude said. More research on this is currently underway."  - Wildlife: Rising Oryx Numbers May Distress New Mexico Ecosystem

Oryx Cause Collisions and Block Runways

"In New Mexico, the animals have caused some issues at the White Sands Missile Range, where they sometimes block the runway. They also cause an added risk on roads, causing collisions."  - Wildlife: Rising Oryx Numbers May Distress New Mexico Ecosystem