When the last wild Arabian oryx disappeared from Jordan, a fenced patch of desert south of Azraq became the place to bring it back. Founded in 1975, Shaumari was Jordan’s first nature reserve, and its oryx later returned to the wild in Wadi Rum.
Where Is the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve?
The reserve lies about 20 km (25 minutes) south of Azraq and about 120 km east of Amman, off the road from Azraq towards the Saudi border. It covers 22 km² of flint desert cut by sandy wadis that flood only in winter and spring.
History of the Reserve
The Arabian oryx vanished from Jordan in the mid-20th century, and the last wild oryx anywhere was taken in Oman in 1972. In 1975 the RSCN, with the support of WWF, founded Shaumari as a breeding and reintroduction centre. In 1978 eleven oryx arrived, eight from the San Diego Wild Animal Park in the United States and three from Qatar. In October 1983 King Hussein released 31 of their descendants from the breeding pens into the reserve.
Habitats and Wildlife
Besides the oryx, the reserve breeds Persian onagers, introduced from European zoos from the 1980s as the closest relatives of the extinct Syrian wild ass, and Arabian sand gazelles, first brought in 1978. Ostriches are kept too. Houbara bustards, larks, long-legged buzzards and cream-coloured coursers live on the plain, and striped hyenas, jackals, wolves and foxes roam the surrounding desert.
Arabian Oryx
The herd that brought the oryx back to Jordan.
Persian Onagers
Wild asses, the closest relatives of the extinct Syrian onager.
Sand Gazelles
Arabian sand gazelles bred in the reserve.
Oryx Safari
Jeep and bike tours among the animals.
Saving the Arabian Oryx
The herd grew to 186 animals by 1995 and about 313 by 2000, too many for the land. Between 1997 and 2006 more than 100 oryx were moved out, including 10 to the Wadi Rum Protected Area in 2002 and 50 more in 2006. To refresh the herd’s genes, the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi sent 20 oryx in 2022. The Arabian oryx was moved from Endangered to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List in 2011, one of conservation’s great success stories.
Visiting the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve Today
After a long closure the reserve reopened in 2017, and a new visitor centre was inaugurated in 2018. The visitor centre takes about 20 minutes. The main RSCN tour is the Oryx Safari by jeep (about an hour; 18 JOD, residents 13 JOD, including the guide and the reserve entrance); there are also a bike trail and a birdwatching walk, all booked at least 24 hours ahead. See our Shaumari Wildlife Reserve travel guide for prices and booking.
Further reading: Harding et al., Reintroduction of the Arabian oryx in Jordan (Oryx 2007); Eid & Mallon, Wild ungulates in Jordan (2021).
