Qatar hosted the 15th Asian Games in December 2006 — the first Gulf state to do so — and issued this commemorative alongside a broader series marking the event. Orry, the Arabian oryx chosen as the Games' official mascot, became one of the more recognizable mascot designs in Asian Games history, developed by a Qatari creative team under the Supreme Committee for the Games.
The oryx had been functionally extinct in the wild by the early 1970s before Qatar and neighboring states undertook captive breeding programs. Its selection carried pointed national significance.
Qatar hosted the 15th Asian Games in December 2006 — the first Gulf state to do so — and issued this commemorative alongside a broader series marking the event. Orry, the Arabian oryx chosen as the Games' official mascot, became one of the more recognizable mascot designs in Asian Games history, developed by a Qatari creative team under the Supreme Committee for the Games.
The oryx had been functionally extinct in the wild by the early 1970s before Qatar and neighboring states undertook captive breeding programs. Its selection carried pointed national significance.