Abu Dhabi sets up reserve for endangered oryx

Abu Dhabi emirate, one of the Middle East’s pioneers in the protection of endangered species, has approved plans to set up a new massive wildlife reserve to breed the oryx and other animals and birds that face extinction because of excessive hunting and immense development programmes.

The new reserve will spread on around 304 square kilometers, nearly half Bahrain’s area, and is located in the heart of the Empty Quarter desert, the largest and most barren sand territory in the world.

Officials said work has already started to fence off the Al Sarab Reserve, just near the legendary Qasr Al Sarab Hotel, which is located in the heart of the desert amidst giant sand dunes in Liwa near the Saudi border.

The new reserve will be dedicated for oryx, the target of a massive breeding programme launched by late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan more than four decades ago to save the animal from extinction.

“We will release oryxes and sand gazelles into this new reserve…we are also considering releasing ostriches,” said Abdulnasser Al Shamsi, executive director, animal welfare and forestry projects at the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD).

“We will also set up a smaller reserve in that area for the protection of hubara bustard birds…this one will have an area of around 45 square kilometers …with these two, Dhabi will have five major reserves onland,” Shamsi told the semi official Arabic language newspaper Al Ittihad.

Abu Dhabi, which controls nearly nine per cent of the world’s proven oil resources, is already a leader in endangered species protection as the emirate is home to the region’s largest wildlife reserve on Sir Bani Yas Island.

Late Sheikh Zayed started an ambitious breeding programme for the oryx just after he became ruler of Abu Dhabi in early 1960s.

Just before it was wiped out of existence in the UAE’s wilderness, a few couples of oryxes were caught and bred.

The programme started as a small scale breeding project but it has gained momentum over the past years to virtually resurrect the oryx and launch it back into nature.

Only three female oryxes and two males were caught in early 1960s and breeding programmes have boosted their number to more than 1,200 animals.

Most of them are seen grazing freely away from human predators on Sir Bani Yas, which is also home to over 60,000 deer and 90,000 other animals and birds.

The success of breeding programmes has encouraged scientists in the UAE to embark on long-term plans to breed more oryxes and release some of them into the wilderness, where they are protected by strict laws issued by late Zayed to ban the hunting of endangered animals and birds in the UAE.

According to the Abu Dhabi-based Environment Research and Wildlife Development Agency (ERWDA), the UAE now has more than a fifth of the world’s known oryx population of nearly 5,000.

The Arabian oryx is the largest member of the gazelle family. Native to Arabia’s deserts, it now exists in protected reserves in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

In 1999, Abu Dhabi was also selected as the headquarters of the Executive Secretariat of the newly-created Coordination Committee f or the Conservation of the Arabian Oryx in recognition of late Zayed’s protection efforts.

The oryx, scientifically known as Oryx Leucoryx, once roamed the entire Arabian Peninsula before it became almost extinct as a wild species in the early 1960s.

Its precise natural range within the UAE is not clear but they were probably found in and around Liwa as well as on the plains adjacent to the mountains that stretch to the northern emirates, according to zoologists.

Oryxes are creatures of the open desert being able to live in areas without trees or standing water. Instead they rely on moisture obtained from their food and can conserve water by a special adaptation of their kidneys.

Their bodies are distinctly white, while their legs are clearly marked dark brown as far as the last joint above their hoofs, with the last part to the hoofs being white.

The tail is black-tipped and they have distinct dark facial markings that extend  down to the lower part of the neck.

“The new reserves are part of Abu Dhabi’s ongoing strategy to preserve and protect the biodiversity and wildlife of the emirate…they will be open to Qasr Al Sarab residents provided they do not threaten the animals and birds,” Shamsi said.

”Besides, such reserves will also create a sort of environmental tourism in the emirate, which is unique in the region.”

Sir Bani Yas had been a desolate, arid piece of land before large-scale investment programmes turned it into a major reserve and farming centre.

The 220-square kilometre island has also been expanded and there are plans to further increase its area by burying more water in the sea to accommodate the increase in the reserve’s population and allow for more farm expansions.

The establishment of Sir Bani Yas and smaller reserves in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and other emirates was prompted by serious erosion in  the UAE’s wildlife because of massive development plans triggered by the discovery of oil in late 1950s.

The advent of advanced weapons and lack of protection laws aggravated the ecological damage and pushed more species to the verge of extinction.

The reserve projects have been coupled with enactment of laws involving stringent penalties issued by late Sheikh Zayed to ban hunting  and assign exclusion zones for endangered animals and creatures.

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