When President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan took over as the Ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, his main concern was how to unite the emirates and benefit from the oil windfall in transforming the desert oases into a modern state.

His attitude towards modernity and advancement did not affect his love of nature as he set off towards another major goal: how to rebuild the wildlife and restore ecological balance that had been badly damaged by excessive hunting.

The Arabian Oryx was one of the lucky species which had benefited from Sheikh Zayed's wildlife reconstruction drive. Just before it was wiped out of existence in the UAE's wilderness, a few couples were caught and bred on the President's orders.

The programme started as a small scale breeding project but it has gained momentum over the past years to virtually resurrect the oryx and launch it back into nature.

Only three female oryxes and two males were caught in early 1960s and breeding programmes have boosted their number to more than 1,200 animals.

Most of them are seen grazing freely away from predators at the massive Sir Bani Yas wildlife reserve, which is also home to nearly 60,000 deer and 90,000 other animals and birds.

"In Sir Bani Yas reserve, ambitious breeding programmes were launched with only three female oryxes and two males. The programmes involved scientific research and technology and the result was remarkably successful," said a report by Western zoologists on the UAE's wildlife.

It said the success of such programmes had encouraged scientists in the UAE to embark on long-term plans to breed more oryxes and release some of them into the wilderness, where they will be protected by strict laws issued by Sheikh Zayed to ban the hunting of endangered animals and birds in the UAE.

With this number of oryxes, the UAE now has more than a fifth of the world's known oryx population of nearly 5,000, according to the Abu Dhabi-based Environment Research and Wildlife Development Agency (Erwda).

"The number of the species has grown as a result of 30 years of institutional and government efforts to reintroduce and protest the last herd from extinction," said Mohammed Al Bowardi, Manager Director of the government-run Erwda.

The Arabian oryx is the largest member of the gazelle family. Native to Arabia's deserts, it now exists in protected reserves in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

In 1999, Abu Dhabi was also selected as the headquarters of the Executive Secretariat of the newly-created Coordination Committee for the Conservation of the Arabian Oryx in recognition of Sheikh Zayed's protection efforts.

The committee which held its first meeting in Oman, groups the UAE, other Gulf States and several other countries concerned in the protection of this animal.

The oryx, scientifically known as Oryx Leucoryx, once roamed the entire Arabian Peninsula before it became almost extinct as a wild species in the early 1960s.

Its precise natural range within the UAE is not clear but they were probably found in and around Liwa as well as on the plains adjacent to the mountains that stretch to the Northern Emirates, according to zoologists.

Oryxes are creatures of the open desert being able to live in areas without trees or standing water. Instead they rely on moisture obtained from their food and can conserve water by a special adaptation of their kidneys.

Their bodies are distinctly white, while their legs are clearly marked dark brown as far as the last joint above their hoofs, with the last part to the hoofs being white. The tail is black-tipped and they have distinct dark facial markings that extend down to the lower part of the neck.

"Both male and female carry a pair of symmetrical horns, very slightly curved to the back. As the horns of a healthy animal are so symmetrical that they appear as one if seen in profile, it is assumed that the oryx was the origin of the legendary unicorn," the report said.

"The horns can grow to a length of 90 centimetres and their sharp points are deadly weapons among bulls that fight for superiority."

Apart from oryxes, more than 25 endangered species of animals and nearly 85 types of birds, many of which have been brought from abroad, live on Sir Bani Yas Island in a well-protected reserve. Snakes and other predators are not allowed to live on the island.

The establishment of Sir Bani Yas reserve, Al Ain zoo, Al Maha reserve and several smaller reserves in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other emirates was prompted by a serious erosion in the UAE's wildlife because of massive development plans triggered by the discovery of oil in late 1950s.

The advent of advanced weapons and lack of protection laws aggravated the ecological damage and pushed more species to the verge of extinction.

The reserve projects have been coupled with enactment of laws involving stringent penalties issued by Sheikh Zayed to ban hunting and assign exclusion zones for endangered animals and creatures.

Sir Bani Yas had been a desolate, arid piece of land before large-scale investment programmes turned it into a major reserve and farming centre.

The 220 sq km island has also been expanded and there are plans to further increase its area by burying more water in the sea to accommodate the increase in the reserve's population and allow for more farm expansions.