Dugongs facing multiple threats, warns EAD

ABU DHABI - The dugong (also known as Sea Cow) population in the UAE waters, the world’s second largest home for the marine mammal, is facing multiple threats, the Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi (EAD) warned on Thursday.

“The endangered dugong species is currently facing a number of threats due to habitat loss and human-related activities such as increased marine activity, being caught in discarded fishing nets, impact with boats, marine pollution, as well as a decline of its critical natural habitat — underwater sea grass beds,” Thabit Al Abdessalaam, Director of Biodiversity Management Sector at EAD. According to the agency, the world’s second largest population of dugongs is in the UAE waters, and the importance of protecting this unique species is being highlighted in the fifth episode of ‘The Environment Show with Ask Ali’ series. This episode on the dugong is being screened at the Eco-Cinema at the ‘Bu Tinah Experience’ until November 10.

There are only 95,000 to 100,000 dugongs left in the world. Australia has 85,000, the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea bordering countries have approximately 7,300, while the remainder are located in the other range states.

“The protection of Bu Tinah Island and other dugong habitats continues to be a priority for Abu Dhabi. As our country continues to grow and develop, we must ensure that all our biodiversity and natural resources are conserved effectively,” said Al Abdessalaam.

In this episode of the documentary, viewers get a closer look at the dugong and learn why it has been classified as being ‘vulnerable to extinction’ under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) 2009 Red List of Threatened Species.

This index indicates how such animals face a high risk of extinction in the wild. During the programme, Ali meets with experts from the EAD who explain the threats facing the species, the importance of its existence to the future sustainability of the UAE’s biodiversity and how Bu Tinah has increasingly become a safe haven for this migratory sea mammal.

The EAD’s Dugong Conservation Programme studies the dugongs’ ecology, movement and migration patterns. The data collected over the past 10 years has enabled the EAD to better understand the health of the environment and how it should be managed to ensure long-term sustainability.

It has also helped the EAD to understand dugong behaviour and contribute to the establishment of the Marawah Marine Biosphere Reserve.

“We are focused on ensuring that Abu Dhabi’s waters are managed in a manner which helps this globally endangered species. These efforts have enabled us to maintain the species’ population by ensuring the integrity of its key habitats and marine ecosystems,” said Abdessalaam.

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25 new species discovered in UAE's Wadi Wurayah

Wadi Wurayah teems with life with discovery of 55 new species
September 2011: Wadi Wurayah continues to be a stronghold for wildlife in the United Arab Emirates with the discovery of 55 new species, including a shiny golden bug called Sphenoptera vanharteni, and a long-legged elegant ant: Lepisiota elegantissima, in addition to a tiny gecko: Asaccus gallagheri.

Out of the 55 newly recorded species recently found, 25 are considered new to science species, further highlighting the importance of this protected area. These new species found in Wadi Wurayah are composed of two species of Arachnida (spiders, scorpions, ticks), one species of terrestrial Crustacean (crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles), one species of Entognatha (springtails), and 51 species of insects (bugs, flies, ants, butterflies, etc).

The findings are a result of continued research, collaboration and verification by Emirates Wildlife Society in association with WWF (EWS-WWF), Fujairah Municipality and local authorities.

Tiny geckos feed on insects they catch in the darkChristophe Tourenq, senior conservation manager of EWS-WWF, said: ‘These discoveries highlight the importance of conserving the habitats of the UAE.

The protection of the many unique life forms that reside in our natural environment is interconnected with and interdependent on the protection of these habitats. The sustainability of our lifestyle is also dependent on the health of our natural environment and the resources it provides.'

He added: ‘It is vital that we all do our part towards the conservation of our natural heritage. EWS-WWF calls on all UAE residents to work together and act responsibly to help support the on-going protection of the countries habitats from degradation and loss.'

Another Wadi Wurayah species was discovered by two reptiles and amphibian specialists; researcher Theodore J. Papenfuss from University of Berkley, California, and his assistant, Todd Pierson. They spotted a tiny gecko on the gravel bed of the wadi: the Gallagher's leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus gallagheri). Males of this elegant minuscule gecko of less than 7cm show a beautifully coloured yellow tail and feed on the insects they chase in the dark, thanks to their night-vision. The Gallagher's leaf-toed gecko was first described in Masafi, UAE in 1972 and is only found in the UAE and northern Oman.

In October 2010, Wadi Wurayah officially joined the list of 1,932 wetlands around the world which are of international importance for biodiversity conservation under the Ramsar Convention. Due to its habitat diversity and the presence of permanent water, Wadi Wurayah is considered a stronghold for the wildlife in UAE.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/uae-wildlife2011.html

First wild born cheetah for 40 years in Arabia

April 2010. The last known Arabian cheetah was shot in Saudi Arabia in 1950, though they may have hung on in Oman until around 1970. Now 4 cubs have been born in the wild in a nature reserve on an island off the coast of the United Arab Emirates. Wildlife Extra believes that this is also the first time that cheetah have successfully been reintroduced into the wild anywhere in the world.


The cheetahs on Sir Bani Yas Island are from captive bred populations. The mother and father of the cubs, Safira and Gabriel were raised in Dubai's Wildlife Centre and the Sharjah Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife. The cheetahs were brought to the island as part of conservation efforts which include breeding, re-wilding, releasing into the Arabian Wildlife Park to become an integral part of the natural population control for hoofed species on the island.
Cheetahs taught to hunt for themselves


The Sir Bani Yas Island conservation team spends a great deal of time and effort into putting animals that are brought to the island from captive populations through a re-wilding programme and ensuring that the animals are trained to hunt and be self-sufficient before they are released into the Arabian Wildlife Park. Once they are released, the conservation team is removed completely from the animals' day-to-day activities, and the cheetahs, Safira and Gabriel, are a telling example of what can be achieved through re-wilding as they hunt and fend for themselves without human interference.

Low survival rate
Survival rates for cheetah cubs are very low both in the wild and captivity, and according to the conservation team, Safira, the cubs' mother, is doing an impressive job of taking care of her cubs, even though she was raised by humans. She has not yet moved the cubs from their original birth place in a small cave in the mountains. Safira is fitted with a radio collar and can be tracked and monitored by the conservation team on the island.

Arabian Oryx

The flagship specie on Sir Bani Yas is the Arabian Oryx that was introduced in 1971 and was an unprecedented success, as the animal was declared extinct in the wild by 1972. Now, there are around 400 Arabian Oryx on Sir Bani Yas Island roaming freely in the park.

Cheetah for sale in Abu Dhabi
However Wildlife Extra is distressed to find a website based in Abu Dhabi offering cheetah and ocelot kittens for sale. We stress that this is nothing to do with the Arabian Wildlife Park, but it does show that the authorities in Abu Dhabi have a a little way to go to to fully protect cheetah in Abu Dhabi. There can be no conservation while there is a commercial trade in such a rare species.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/arabia-cheetah.html