In Saudi Arabia, something exciting is happening for the animals! The country is working really hard to bring back wildlife that was disappearing. They’re doing this by restoring the land and making sure animals have a safe place to live.

Saudi Arabia is hosting World Environment Day 2024, which will focus on this years theme of land restoration, desertification and drought resilience. This event is all about protecting nature, and this year, the focus is on bringing back plants and animals to places where they used to live. Experts say this is super important because when nature is healthy, it helps us humans too.

One big effort in Saudi Arabia is called “rewilding.” This means bringing back animals that had disappeared from certain areas. The country has increased protection for over 18 percent of its land, which is a big jump from just 4 percent before. Additionally, they’ve boosted the number of national parks from 19 to more than 400. They are bringing back the Arabian oryx, which is like a beautiful desert antelope. These animals had almost vanished, but now, thanks to careful breeding and care, they’re coming back strong. People are seeing them again in places where they hadn’t been for a long time!

But it’s not just about one kind of animal. Saudi Arabia is also working to protect other animals, like the Arabian leopard, which is very rare. To help these big cats, they’re making sure there’s enough food for them by bringing back their prey, like the Nubian ibex, which is a type of mountain goat.

To make all this happen, Saudi Arabia is doing a few things. They’re setting aside special areas called national parks, where animals can live safely. They’re also planting native plants and stopping things like overgrazing and development that harm the land.

People in charge of wildlife in Saudi Arabia are really happy to see these efforts paying off. They say it’s amazing to watch animals come back to places where they haven’t been seen in a long time. And they’re not stopping there. They want to keep working to make sure all kinds of animals have a chance to thrive in their natural homes.

So, in Saudi Arabia, they’re showing the world how important it is to take care of nature and the animals that live in it. With their hard work, more and more wildlife is making a comeback, bringing joy and hope to everyone who loves the beauty of the natural world.