Vets save endangered gazelle orphaned at birth

Al Ain: Veterinarians at Al Ain Zoo have saved a new-born Mhorr gazelle, a criticially endangered species, that was rendered helpless by his mother's death soon after birth.

Belonging to a rare breed of gazelle, the orphaned calf was hand-reared by professional zookeepers, ensuring the gazelle grows up to be healthy and strong and can easily be re-integrated into the herd at a later stage, said a spokesperson of the zoo.

Mhorr gazelle, a western sub-species of the Dama gazelle, once lived in the Sahara desert region that lies in Morocco. Their population has rapidly declined due to hunting, over grazing by domestic livestock, and civil unrest.

These gazelles now exist only in captivity where breeding and re-introduction programmes are their only hope for survival.

Bottle feeding

Al Ain Zoo took the necessary steps and bottle-fed the calf five times a day so that it could receive ample nutrition and nourishment.

"We are thrilled that the orphaned young male has been in great health since birth," said Majid Al Qasimi, assistant associate veterinarian at Al Ain Zoo.

Close monitoring

He said the baby gazelle was being kept in a separate pen for purposes of close monitoring and an enclosure was built close to the rest of the herd. This strategy enables the calf to maintain contact with the rest of the Mhorr gazelles.

Dr Arshad Toosy, manager of Veterinary Operations at Al Ain Zoo, said this Mhorr gazelle represents another example of the zoo's successful rearing of new-born animals.

Al Ain Zoo is one of the few wildlife parks in the world where a giraffe calf was reared successfully.

Abandoned

Almost a year old now, the calf had been abandoned by its mother.

"Because of its status in the wild, the protection of the threatened sub-species is critical, particularly as Al Ain Zoo's herd of Nubian giraffes is among the very few in captivity worldwide," he added.

Al Ain Zoo is a member of the World Association for Zoo and Aquaria (Waza) and is actively involved in several internationally co-ordinated conservation projects and works with other like-minded organisations.

The organisations include the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, The Species Survival Commission, San Diego Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, the World Conservation Union and the Species Survival Commission, the Northern Rangelands Trust of Kenya and the Sahara Conservation Fund to conserve and re-introduce threatened arid land species such as Arabian Oryx, Scimitar-horned Oryx, giraffes and gazelle.

Al Ain Zoo is open daily from 9am to 8pm. During the Eid Al Adha holidays and on UAE National Day the zoo will be open from 10am to 10pm.