Wild ‘Unicorn’ aka Arabian Oryx Brought Back from Extinction

An environmental group- The International Union for Conservation of Nature- claims that an animal widely believed to be the source of the unicorn legend is back from the brink of extinction after a successful breeding program.

The wild Arabian or “white” oryx- the last was believed to be shot in 1972- now has a population of nearly 1,000 strong in the deserts of the Arabian Peninsula, according to the IUCN.

To have brought the Arabian oryx back from the brink of extinction is a major feat and a true conservation success story, one which we hope will be repeated many times over for other threatened species,” Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak, director general of the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, told the U.K. paper.

The Arabian oryx, known locally as ‘Al Maha’, is one of four large species of antelope with two long horns.

The Unicorn nickname came into play when someone observed the animal from the side and noticed that the two horns looked like a single horn.

Check out the short clip below that explains how the Arabian oryx was brought back from the brink of extinction.
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