Struthio camelus syriacus
1941
Illustration of an Arabian ostrich, featured as the frontispiece to J. G. Wood's Wood's Bible Animals: A Description of the Habits, Structure, and Uses of Every Living Creature Mentioned in the Scriptures, From the Ape to the Coral (1877) Source
Ranging across the Arabian Peninsula, this ostrich species served as a sacrificial offering in Mesopotamia, adorned prehistoric lithic graffiti, and was thought be a fit gift for kings in Tang China. It was disparaged in the Old Testament's Book of Job --- which instead praised the parental stork --- for leaving its nest unattended. Romans stewed the ostrich, while its eggs became a peace offering in T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926). The introduction of firearms and motor vehicles profoundly tipped hunting expeditions in the favor of humans, leading first to overharvesting and then extinction. Due to its genetic similarity to a North African subspecies of ostrich, attempts are ongoing to reintroduce this animal to the Arabian Peninsula.
Bos primigenius
1627
Illustration of an aurochs from Siegmund von Herberstein's Rervm Moscoviticarvm commentarij Sigismundi (1556) Source
Ranging across the Arabian Peninsula, this ostrich species served as a sacrificial offering in Mesopotamia, adorned prehistoric lithic graffiti, and was thought be a fit gift for kings in Tang China. It was disparaged in the Old Testament's Book of Job --- which instead praised the parental stork --- for leaving its nest unattended. Romans stewed the ostrich, while its eggs became a peace offering in T. E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom (1926). The introduction of firearms and motor vehicles profoundly tipped hunting expeditions in the favor of humans, leading first to overharvesting and then extinction. Due to its genetic similarity to a North African subspecies of ostrich, attempts are ongoing to reintroduce this animal to the Arabian Peninsula.
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