Alternative names | Thumamah Research Center |
---|---|
Named after | King Khalid |
Organization | National Center of Wildlife Zoological Society of London (until 2016) |
Location | King Khalid Royal Reserve, al-Thumamah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia |
Coordinates | 25°13′14″N 46°37′35″E / 25.2206°N 46.6263°E |
Established | 1987 |
Website | www |
King Khalid Wildlife Research Center (KKWRC) (Arabic: مركز الملك خالد لأبحاث الحياة الفطرية), also known as the Thumamah Research Centre,[1] and formerly as al-Thumamah Farm (Arabic: مزرعة الثمامة), is a biological research facility and a wildlife observatory located at the King Khalid Royal Reserve (formerly al-Thumamah Wildlife Park) in the al-Thumamah area of northeastern Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.[2][3][4] It was established for the preservation and captive breeding of the country's endangered wildlife in 1987 during the reign of King Fahd[5] and was managed by the Zoological Society of London[6] under the supervision of the Saudi Wildlife Authority (now the National Center of Wildlife) before the former completely handed over administrative duties to the latter in 2016.[7]
The observatory's purpose is to oversee the preservation, propagation and resettlement of over 500 endangered animal species of Saudi Arabia, that include