Two subspecies of ostrich (Struthio camelus) used to occur in the W Palearctic. The North African ostrich (S. c. camelus) throughout North Africa and the now extinct Arabian ostrich (S. c. syriacus) in Arabia and the Levant. Ostriches currently occur in less than 1% of their original range in our region and all populations are the result of reintroductions.
North African Ostriches have been reintroduced into a fenced reserve in the Souss-Massa National Park in Morocco. There are also small reintroduced populations in Saudi-Arabia and Qatar, of the North African subspecies, the closest relative of the extinct Arabian Ostrich. A failed reintroduction was attempted in Israel's Negev desert region.
Status in w palearctic | 1% or less of original range |
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Ecological niche | Large Herbivore |
Region | Middle East - Arabia, Middle East - Levant, North Africa - Eastern, North Africa - Western |
Z ecotourism potential | 3 |