The endangered inhabitants of Qatar
Qatar is a land of many wonders. From the beautifully sculpted desert rose that blooms in the desert to the mesmerizing skyline on the Corniche, from the natural landscapes of sea, sand and amazing beaches to the most modern and state-of-the-art technological amenities, Qatar has it all.
However, there is one aspect of Qatar that is relatively untapped-the animals that inhabit the desert areas. Did you know that Qatar is home to at least four endangered animals?
Read on to learn more about these beautiful animals and how the Qatari government is working untiredly to conserve these animals and save them from extinction.
1. Arabian Oryx
Photo credit: Bo Fahad-Qtr-
Well-known in Qatar as its national symbol, the Arabian Oryx is the largest Arabian antelope and is predominantly white having dark brown legs, white hooves and a black-tipped tail. Its face has markings that go on till their neck’s lower part. The horns of both the male and female have a slight curve towards the back and are symmetrical, so much so that, in profile, they may look like one; some even believe that the Arabian Oryx may once have been the mythical unicorn. The horns are very pointy and a deadly weapon when used.
The Arabian Oryx is a herbivore and lives in the desert where it can live without water for days, and perhaps even weeks. When it does need water, it consumes the leaves of plants in its habitat.
In 1972, the Arabian Oryx became an extinct animal, but the Qatari government in cooperation with zoos and conservation groups organized a vigilant reintroduction program to bring it out of extinction. Today, the Arabian Oryx is no longer on the endangered species list and its numbers are increasing slowly but gradually putting it on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s List of Threatened Species as vulnerable or endangered, but not extinct.
2. Arabian Gazelle
Photo credit: Thasleem MK
The Arabian Gazelle, also known as the mountain gazelle or Reem Gazelle in the Arabian Peninsula, is the most slender of all the Gazelle species and the most beautiful. It has a long neck along with long hind legs so it can run up to 80km per hour and escape its predators. The Arabian gazelle has a darkish brown coat, a white rump along with a bushy tail that is short and black. It has comparatively short ears and both the male and female have horns.
The Arabian Gazelle has very good hearing and vision; it uses its smelling power to find food and identify its predators.
The Arabian Gazelle is a herbivore, that lives in dry and hot deserts of Africa, Asia and the Middle East, and often lives mostly in the mountains or hills, but is also found in the desert areas of Qatar.
Today, this Arabian Gazelle is on the brink of extinction due to excessive hunting and poaching of this beautiful animal. The Qatari Government is doing all it can to reintroduce it back to its desert environment and has been quite successful in increasing its numbers.
3. Desert Monitor Lizard
Photo credit: Asaru Kariyil
The Desert Monitor Lizard is known for its forked tongue. It has a yellowish-brown color and cross-bands all over its body and tail; its nostrils are near its eyes. It can grow up to one meter in length though two thirds of that length is taken up by its tail. It has a strong body and a long neck.
The Desert Monitor Lizard is a carnivore and eats scorpions, snakes, lizards, rats, fish and carrion. It is an important part of the ecosystem and food chain as a prey and as a predator, and as a biological control over reptiles and rodents. It is a prehistoric reptile and part of the phylogenetic tree that goes back to dinosaurs that were part of the Cretaceous Period more than 65 million years ago.
The Desert Monitor Lizard has very good vision and an excellent sense of smell, using its tongue to smell out its prey or predator, just like a snake.
The Desert Monitor Lizard lives in the dry, arid and sandy regions of the Arabian Peninsula, Asia and Africa. It is often hunted for its skin, kept as a pet and is also losing its natural habitat because of the widespread construction of the ever-growing concrete infrastructure. As a result, its presence is dwindling in Qatar. However, Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City which is responsible for the conservation of natural resources in the country, is playing an important and pivotal role in the conservation of the Desert Monitor Lizard and in making sure that it is protected in its natural habitat.
4. Qatar Dugong
The Dugong lives in at least 37 countries around the world, but after Australia, Qatar has the most number of dugongs. These sea creature is mostly found in the waters of Dukhan, Simaisma and Umbab. Not much is known about the Dugong that lives in the Qatari waters, because it does not come to the shallow seas. It prefers to stay closer to the sea bed, so it can evade its main predators, sharks, crocodiles and killer whales. It weighs more than 400kg and moves slowly.
The Dugong is a herbivore and eats the sea grass that grows on the sea bed and may live up to 70 years. It is a mammal but does not reproduce much. This, combined with changes in the ecosystem which have resulted in the dwindling of its food supply, habitat loss and development along Qatar’s coastline, have put the Dugong in the vulnerable to extinction list, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
To bring the Dugong off the endangered species list and protect it from becoming extinct, the ExxonMobil Research Qatar (EMRQ), a tenant of Qatar Science and Technology Park, Qatar University (QU) has signed an agreement with the Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) to conduct research and study the Dugong and its habitat to find a feasible way to conserve the Dugong.
