SULTANIAN ARABIAN ORYX RESERVE

Jiddat al Harasis is the ecosystem and section of the Sultanate that in 1962 was chosen to reintroduce the Arabian white oryx. Covering about 27,000 km², the equivalent of Brittany, it is a plateau 100 to 150 metres high, bounded to the east by an escarpment. The adjoining Huquf depression is separated from the sea coast by the 300-metre-high Janaba Hills. The soil is mainly karstic limestone. It is an important region in the context of Arabia, as it combines a coastal area with cold waters with - unusually - a desert landscape of acacia trees that cuts south into the dunes of the Central Arabian Sea of Sand. All this is in close proximity and functions as a diverse and productive ecosystem.

In 1962, the World Wildlife Fund, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Society for the Protection of Animals joined forces to prevent the extinction of the Arabian white oryx. An Indiana Jones Horn Mission was dispatched to Yemen to capture the last remaining free-ranging animals. Two females and a male are caught, soon joined by six other animals donated by the sheikhs of the Gulf, and entrusted to the good care of the veterinarians of the Phoenix Zoo in this Arizona with its adapted climate. In 1980, back on their feet and in a copulatory trance, the oryx were transported by the Omani air force to Jiddah Al Harasis, where the last of their free-ranging congeners had been hunted in 1972. The sultan sanctuaries the huge area, creates a wildlife control and management centre, has electronic collars placed on the oryx and is proud to see the site become a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. This recognition does not last, however. In 2007, UNESCO, a rare event in its history, decided to remove the oryx sanctuary from its list. The reason was the drastic shrinking of the protected area, reduced by 90% for a hydrocarbon exploration project, and the poor overall maintenance of the reserve. Victims of poaching and habitat degradation, the oryx population has fallen from 450 individuals to 65, including only four breeding pairs.

At present, even though the Sultanian reserve occupies an extremely small territory compared to its initial size (2,824 km² of varied terrain - sandy plains, rocky slopes, dunes, etc.), its habitat is much less degraded than it was at one time. Its shrinking, wanted by the authorities and carried out without informing the UN authorities, has, beyond Unesco, triggered a rather lively polemic between friends of nature and the Omani State. No local publication will tell you more. Some visitors are still surprised, in the forums, to find no more details on the famous "Reserve protected by Unesco", to find even less information on how to access it. Many get lost along the way, in this immense desert, or miss the last bend to the right and end up falling on, yes! oil wells. The situation is changing since the State decided, in December 2017, as part of a planned and increased development of ecotourism, to open the site to the public. Long off the tourist routes, the reserve could therefore become, in the coming years, one of the major attractions in this part of the country where few vehicles still venture out. In addition, the sanctuary is not only home to oryx, but also, if one is lucky, to observe other native species such as the endangered Arabian gazelle, Rüppell's fox, Ethiopian hedgehog, gerbil, desert lizard, sand viper, as well as numerous birds - yellow-throated warbler, desert sirli, isabelle courting bird, white-fronted monk, etc. - which can be seen in the sanctuary.

Pending further development, the question is: do you have to travel 500 kilometres to see this? Until recently, access was only permitted to those holding a permit issued by the diwan's nature protection adviser. This paper was the signal to open the fenced gate, beyond which, after another ten kilometres or so, one reached a small control centre and prefabricated buildings manned by sworn personnel who spoke little English. There, a guard, usually a Harasis, would accompany you to the enclosures where the oryx walked. The sun was just overwhelming, the news minimal, the natural spectacle disturbed by the fences... At the last news, it seems that the access is easy and that some guides speak English... At the time of closing, however, we hadn't managed to get any phone number, let alone a website and no practical information worthy of the name. We know that the reserve can be visited in 4x4 under the strict supervision of the site guards, who are a priori omnipresent. No reason, therefore, if you decide to go there, that you can't enter. The simplest way is probably to go there with a local receptive, within the framework of an "à la carte" tour for example. Oryx have gone from about 10 to 750.