Kidepo Valley National Park used to be home to the strikingly beautiful oryx but these have not been sighted since the mid-1990s. Uganda Wildlife Authority is now making plans to re-introduce oryx in Kidepo, and if everything goes according to plan, the exercise will be complete by mid 2010.

According to the UWA Veterinary Co-ordinator, Dr. Patrick Atimnedi, ten oryx will be translocated and these will be held in a boma for security and breeding purposes before finally being released into the wild. The boma is in the process of being strengthened. A boma is an enclosure where translocated animals are held for various purposes such as security, monitoring or breeding before they are released into the wild. It usually has electric fencing to prevent the animals from escaping or to prevent predators from entering and eating the re-introduced animals.

In the boma, the oryx will be examined and treated for any possible diseases that they may have come with.

Re-introduction of the oryx is in line with the planned strategies for strengthening natural resources management systems under the 2007-2012 Strategic Plan. One of the strategies provides for the implementation of ecosystem and species rehabilitation programs through the successful reintroduction of at least two key wildlife species in the protected areas where they previously existed.

The oryx will be translocated from Halla Park in Kenya, and the exercise is estimated to cost about US$324,000. A big chunk of this cost will be incurred in chartering a plane as well as the loading and offloading processes.

“We work in two phases; we begin with making re-introduction and restocking plans followed by the implementation of translocation and breeding programs,” Atimnedi said.

The re-introduction is aimed at establishing a viable breeding population and also enhance revenue generation through improved tourism visitation to the park.