Al Ain Zoo develops Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy 2019-2028 to save and protect one of the most endangered antelopes in the world
The Zoo has developed the Dama Gazelle Conservation Strategy 2019-2028 with the participation of a number of specialists from African countries and representatives of zoos and nature reservations that house Dama Gazelles in their facilities.
The strategy focuses on updating information on Dama Gazelles in terms of numbers and locations in their natural habitats, actions taken by different countries and institutions to protect this species and reduce its extinction rate, opportunities to release more of them in the wild while studying the conditions of potential release locations within the release programs, and presenting the results of genetic research and potential genetic challenges that face this species in the wild, zoos and protected areas.
This strategy also seeks to provide the training needs and specialized technical courses that all stakeholders need in the field and all the veterinary research and support as well.
The Zoo houses over 170 gazelles that belong to two species of the Dama Gazelle; the Addra Gazelle and Mhorr Gazelle. The Dama Gazelle is critically endangered, as its number remaining in the wild at present is probably less than100 gazelles.