Uruq Bani Maarid Reserve
Uruq Bani Maarid Reserve is a nature reserve in southern Saudi Arabia, under the supervision of the National Center for Wildlife, on the western edge of the Empty Quarter, the largest sand desert in the world, in the Najran region. It is considered the last place where the Arabian oryx was seen before it became extinct in the wild in 1970. The reserve contains a number of important landforms and natural habitats, including high sand dunes and a broken limestone plateau, and is divided into three zones: the core zone, a zone where controlled grazing is permitted, and a hunting zone. Uruq Bani Maarid lies in an area that was home to the Arabian oryx before it disappeared from the wild. The remaining area was chosen for the reintroduction of oryx raised in captive breeding programmes, and was also chosen as suitable for restoring herds of Arabian sand gazelle, mountain gazelle and ostrich, all of which historically lived in the area. In 2023, Uruq Bani Maarid Reserve was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, the first natural site in the Kingdom to be listed.
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