What I really want to know is, how long till San Diego counts houbara bustards and Arabian tahrs in their collection?
Not. They are not in the SD collection plans. Besides both are highly specialised taxa and the thars are not exactly available in large numbers. At the moment Al Ain does not have any tahrs at all. The cooperation is a means by which the Al Ain Zoo hopes to develop its wildlife conservation capabilities. With their collection of rare and endangered arid land fauna they would like to take more center stage in in situ conservation efforts. Last year, they made available quite a number of Arabian oryx for a new reintroduction effort inside Abu Dhabi (100 individuals released in 2007). This project is set to continue for another 4 years and it is expected Al Ain Zoo will contribute more oryx again soon.
