Saudi Arabia Celebrates First Onager Birth in Over 100 Years

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Riyadh: Saudi Arabia recorded the birth of its first onager in over 100 years, a significant milestone in the Kingdom's animal conservation and wildlife restoration efforts.

The endangered Persian onager, a type of Asiatic wild ass, was born at the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve as part of an effort to restore natural wildlife in the region.

The reserve authorities declared the milestone after the male foal successfully completed its first year of life, which is vital for the species' survival. Conservationists praised the birth as a milestone toward rebuilding populations of one of the world's rarest equids.

The onager once roamed parts of the Arabian Peninsula but disappeared from Saudi Arabia more than a century ago due to hunting and habitat loss. Fewer than 600 Persian onagers are believed to remain in the wild today.

Officials said the successful birth demonstrates the progress of the reserve’s breeding and reintroduction initiatives and expressed hope that more onager births will follow in the coming years.

The development forms part of Saudi Arabia’s broader environmental strategy to restore biodiversity and reintroduce species that have vanished from the Kingdom’s natural landscapes.