Hatching of red-necked ostrich chicks highlights success of Saudi royal reserve’s breeding program

Hatching of red-necked ostrich chicks highlights success of Saudi royal reserve’s breeding program

RIYADH: In a significant boost for biodiversity in the Kingdom, the Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Royal Nature Reserve Development Authority recently announced the hatching of three endangered red-necked ostrich chicks — a species that had been considered extinct in Saudi Arabia.

At the end of 2021, the royal reserve launched a scheme to reintroduce ostriches to the wild, creating a habitat for a male and a female. The ostriches soon adapted to the reserve and laid their first clutch of 12 eggs in the spring of 2024, three of which hatched naturally. Hatching of red-necked ostrich chicks highlights success of Saudi royal reserve’s breeding program