For years the only scimitar oryx left in the world lived in zoos and private wildlife parks. Scientists carefully looked after these animals and bred them in captivity, keeping the species alive. A plan was then hatched to reintroduce them to the Sahara, and Niger's Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve was chosen as the site.
Starting in 2016, groups of oryx were flown from wildlife parks in Abu Dhabi and Europe to a fenced reserve in Niger, where they were introduced gently to their new home. After adapting well, animals were released into the open reserve. Rangers monitor them using GPS collars and camera traps. Hundreds of oryx now roam the reserve - the largest wild population of this species on Earth.
This is one of the most exciting wildlife comeback stories of the twenty-first century. The scimitar oryx was extinct in the wild, and now it is running free across the Saharan landscape of Niger once again. The project shows what humans can achieve when they work together to undo harm done to nature.