MARWELL Zoo has opened its doors to an international visitor in the form of the Tunisian ambassador.
His Excellency Khemaies Jhinaoui visited the zoo following the successful release of the scimitar-horned oryx in a Tunisian National Park earlier this year.
This is the second time that Marwell has been involved in releasing these animals into the wild after they have been born in the zoo.
The release of ten oryx from six European zoos was arranged and co-ordinated by Marwell's Biologist Simon Wakefield, in partnership with a Slovakian zoo.
In 1985 the zoo was also involved in a release in five pairs of Marwell-bred Oryx in Tunisa.
The oryx is the zoo's flagship animal and is represented in its logo.
It is an endangered species and re-introduction into the wild is both complex and expensive.
However, it remains an effective way of restoring the animals to their native habitat following captive breeding in zoos.
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