Conservationist awarded for helping save rare antelope

Dr Tania Gilbert (right) has been recognised for her work with the scimitar-horned oryx

A conservationist says she is "honoured" to have received an award for her work.

The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) has given the Zoo and Aquarium Hero Award to Dr Tania Gilbert from charity Marwell Wildlife, which operates at Marwell Zoo near Winchester, Hampshire.

It follows the first annual scimitar-horned oryx awareness day on 16 August - a species the zoo helped save from extinction.

Dr Jo Judge, chief executive of BIAZA, said Dr Gilbert's contributions towards conservation "have been absolutely outstanding".

The scimitar-horned oryx had completely disappeared from the wild by the 1990s, the zoo said

Dr Gilbert has been working with Marwell Wildlife's conservation team since 2001 and is currently its head of conservation science.

She has been recognised for her work with the rare antelope with long, curved horns.

Indigenous to North Africa, it completely disappeared from the wild by the 1990s due to overhunting, competition with livestock and droughts, the zoo said.

But after conservation efforts across the world, the species was reintroduced back into the wild and had a positive change in its conservation status from extinct in the wild to endangered.

Dr Gilbert manages international projects, including in Tunisia scimitar-horned oryx are being reintroduced from zoos to their natural habitat.

"I'm truly honoured to have been given this award," she said.

"This animal was extinct across its former range and now it's back in the wild. It's the perfect example of what can be achieved when we all work together to save species."

Dr Philip Riordan, director of conservation at Marwell Wildlife, said: "It is difficult to imagine that we would have succeeded in bringing the scimitar-horned oryx back from extinction without Tania's contributions."