It's definitely the Phoenix Zoo that saved the Arabian Oryx. My senior project at Arizona State (mid 70's) for Software Engineering was to create a program that could be used to determine which individuals could be mated based on their geneology. I spent a lot of hours with the records, so became very familiar with the herd.
[ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabian_Oryx_Reintroduction]Arabian Oryx Reintroduction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
This particular yard is "not divided" and never has been. There has always been a second yard, not shown here, to the right of this one. In other words, two yards for Arabian Oryx, and still two yards for the Peninsular Pronghorns. The yard pictured here is still as it appears in the photograph. Only now, home to the pronghorns.
I miss the Arabian oryx too. I guess it is a sign of the success of the program that LA no longer feels the need to keep them. They are truly beautiful animals and it is a shame that they are no longer there. I suppose the space probably is better used for amping up the peninuslar pronghorn numbers and conservation awareness.
Historical note: there is no question that the LA Zoo had an established Arabian oryx program before the SDWAP, because when they got their oryx the SDWAP wouldn't exist for a few more years!
