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- In 1920, the last Oryx was killed by a hunter in the Jordanian desert!

- It is what a settler revealed us with bitterness and regrets about this beautiful and calm animal

- that proudly wandered the vast desert.

- In the whole world, inoffensive animals have been tirelessly hunted, to such an extent that numerous species are endangered.

- The Oryx is part of those victims that inspire an even greater compassion, because that beautiful animal was harmless and on the contrary suffered a lot of troubles without being able to escape.

- Before that, Oryx had a beautiful place in the Arabic heritage. Everybody remembers verses about the Oryx’s eyes that are among the most beautiful in poetry.

- It was also one of the most beautiful animals living in Arabic deserts.

- Chomari nature reserve, near the Al-Azrak oasis in the northern of desert, is one of the places chosen to preserve the Oryx, raise it and release it in the wild,

- for it to go back to its habitat, where its shapes and movements will be more beautiful to see.

- Oryx used to reproduce in deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, Irak, and Syria and Jordan deserts.

- This bovid member of Oryx genus is called by foreigners Arabian Oryx, highlighting in this way its affiliation in the Arabic region.

- It is a beautiful and vivacious animal, that we could often see in herds

- maching Arak’s leaves, or wandering proudly the desert and its dunes.

- It always had a precious place in the heart of Arabic man,

- since antelopes were sacred in the cult of Ishtar, the Babylonians goddess of love.

- But after Islam advent, its status of beauty replaced its status of spiritual and mythological animal,

- it became an inspiration and a model for poetry of love called ghazal, where it is present in a recurrent way in Arabic poetry collections.

- Oryx is an antelope of average size, used to life in desert and wild stretches.

- It can stand long periods without drinking, absorbing dew on leaves it eats;

- these leaves are very common in pastures.

- This animal rests during the dry season in the shade of trees and only goes out to pasture on during fresh moments or at night.

- In winter, it pastures on during the day and protects itself against wind in hiding behind trees;

- the white fur covering its body helps it to hide in the shade because its colors look like its environment’s ones.

- When it appears in plain sight, it goes on a dune and with reflection of sunbeams it becomes visible far away.

- Oryx female gestation lasts 8 months and a half, after birth, the newborn and its mother isolate away from the herd for few days.

- Arabian Oryx is differentiated from other antelopes because the herd male helps to raise the newborn from its birth,

- and stays with the female and its baby Oryx until they return to the herd.

- Oryx’s capacity to understand information about rains brought with the wind is essential for its survival in desert,

- it usually successes to measure distance that separates it from rains and that it has to travel to find the best pastures.

- It often settles in areas that cover hundreds of square kilometers.

- Today, and after having suffered hunters tracking during a long time, who almost wiped out the species,

- we decided to place few specimens still alive in reserves like the one of Chomari, to enable it to live and reproduce, to protect and raise it,

- then release it after in its habitat, where it will proudly wander and repopulate this vast desert of loneliness.

- Music