Place archive

Al Khor Park

Al Khor Park, located in Al Khor Municipality, Qatar, is a 240-acre zoological institution managed by the Qatar Parks and Reserves Authority, affiliated with the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums and the Middle East Zoo Association. In 2022, ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, the park opened its Giant Panda Pavilion, welcoming two giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) named Su Hai and Su Xing on long-term loan from the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, as part of the Sino-Qatari Giant Panda Joint Research Program. The pavilion’s climate-controlled environment mimics the temperate montane conditions of the Qinling Mountains, China, the native range of giant pandas, which are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List and listed under Appendix I of CITES. The park’s signature Arabian Oryx Sanctuary, opened in 2001, hosts a breeding population of the Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx), a species once classified as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN before successful collaborative reintroduction programs led by the Arabian Oryx Reintroduction Foundation. Al Khor Park works in partnership

Al Khor Park houses giant pandas under international loan agreement with the China Conservation and Research Center, as part of the cooperative panda diplomacy and ex-situ conservation network.