The first occurrence of red-necked ostriches in the north of the Kingdom after being extinct for more than 100 years.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA, April 26, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve Development Authority (ITBA) announced a new success for its efforts in the restoration and protection of rare and endangered species, which resulted in the hatching of three new red-necked ostriches.

This is the first occurrence of red-necked ostriches (Struthio camelus) in the north of the Kingdom after being extinct for more than 100 years.

In late 2021, ITBA launched a program to restore ostriches and provide a natural habitat for an ostrich couple. The ostriches adapted to the reserve’s environment and laid 12 eggs for the first time in the spring of 2024, three of which hatched naturally.

ITBA is dedicated to protecting and providing a suitable environment for resettling rare species in their natural habitats to increase their numbers. This is part of efforts to protect wildlife and biodiversity and restore ecological balance, including rare species such as the reem gazelle, Arab oryx, red-necked ostrich, and others.

The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve is home to 138 wild species, including reem gazelles, Arab oryxes, foxes, wild rabbits, many birds such as macqueen's bustards and crested larks, and many invertebrates and reptiles.

Alongside this unique biodiversity, ITBA, which spans 91,500 km2, making it the second largest royal reserve in the Kingdom, is a habitat to a thriving vegetation cover of more than 179 plants.

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