The Arabian oryx, a.k.a. Sahara Ram herd in the Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve this morning welcomed a newborn calf who—as newborn calves are known to do—was following Mom most of the day, except when it was taking naps in the shade of a tree.
The Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve is famous for its efforts to breed endangered and locally extinct animals that are mentioned in the Bible, for reintroduction to the Negev desert. The Asian wild ass has already been reintroduced in the Makhtesh Ramon area of the wild. Also, the park has some rare desert animals, which are not native to Israel, like the scimitar oryx and the Red-necked ostrich from northern Africa.
the Sahara Ram is a species of oryx that was once widespread across North Africa. The species went extinct in the wild in 2000.
