ONE of the most threatened antelopes in the world has been born at Marwell Zoo in Hampshire.

The female scimitar-horned oryx, who was named Belle by keepers, is the third of three calves born at the zoo this year alone.

She was born despite the once abundant scimitar-horned oryx being assessed as ‘extinct in the wild’ in 2000 by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The antelope animal only exists today because it has been bred in captivity.

According to Marwell Zoo, who are owned and operated by conservation charity Marwell Wildlife, the charity has been instrumental in the preservation and reintroduction of the rare species.

Marwell Wildlife’s conservation biologist, Tania Gilbert, said; “The scimitar-horned oryx was one of the first species we brought to Marwell Zoo when we opened in 1972. Since then we’ve had an incredible 366 calves born here, making them one of our biggest success stories, both in terms of breeding and conservation success.

“Our scimitar-horned oryx have been transported as far as Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, but most importantly we’ve reintroduced groups of oryx into protected areas in Tunisia to re-establish them in their natural habitat. We continue to research the re-established populations and work to enhance the biodiversity of the protected areas where they live.”

The Tunisian reintroductions of the animal began in 1985 with 10 scimitar-horned oryx from Marwell and Edinburgh Zoo, followed by Marwell co-ordinating the release of scimitar-horned oryx into three more protected areas within their former historic range in 1999 and 2007.

Today, there are around 220 scimitar-horned oryx across five protected areas.

All of these animals are now wild-born following the natural attrition of the population, marking an important milestone in the re-establishment of this species.

Marwell Wildlife now focuses on factors that will affect the long-term health of these animals by monitoring and studying reintroduced populations across Tunisia’s protected area network, including studying their genetics.

The scimitar-horned oryx can be found in Marwell Zoo’s Wild Explorers exhibit alongside endangered Grevy’s zebra, white rhinos and ostrich.