Wildlife Reserve in Al Wusta

The Wildlife Reserve in Al Wusta, formerly the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, is a nature reserve in the Omani Central Desert and Coastal Hills.

In a much larger form, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage list, but in 2007 it became the first site to be removed from the World Heritage list.

[1] On June 28, 2007, the reserve was removed from the World Heritage Site register.

UNESCO cited Oman's decision to reduce Arabian Oryx Sanctuary by 90% after oil had been found at the site, and the decline of the population of Arabian oryx (a kind of antelope) from 450 in 1996 to 65 in 2007 as a result of poaching and habitat destruction.

[2] Species inhabiting the reserve also included the mountain gazelle, Nubian ibex, Arabian wolf, honey badger and caracal.