Bulletin 37 - March 1989: Mammal Recorder's Report, 1988

Mammal Recorder's Report, 1988

In last year's report, prepared a week or two after I had taken over as Recorder, I appealed for records - of all and anything. I am pleased to note that this year there has been a substantial increase in records, many by members who have not submitted reports in the past. Many thanks.

In this report, most of the 1988 records are included, partly to show the growth in number since last year, and partly also to show how much more needs to be done. Expertise is not a prerequisite; while not all members may be prepared to pick up a squashed and smelly gerbil from the road, there is no reason why a skull that has been picked clean and bleached by the sun cannot be popped into a plastic bag.

More species have been noted this year, and recordings have also come in from more areas. Some carcasses have also been collected, and are, at present, kept in the ENHG deep-freeze in the Old Fort.

As a result, the Mammal Report this year is less dependent upon newspaper cuttings. However, once again, it is to the papers that we owe our happiest and saddest records of the year - the successful breeding of Gordon's Wildcats by ENHG member Marijcke Jongbloed in Dubai and the killing of three Arabian Leopards in Jebel Haqah in April. Also from the press came news of continued hunting by local inhabitants in the Ras al Khaimah mountains. Details are below. The reports underline the necessity for a broader understanding of wildlife conservation issues in the UAE. While Committee members have raised the topic with our Patron, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al Nahyan, he rightly makes the points that a) education is the key and b) that attitudes towards conservation varies from Emirate to Emirate. Any member with the ability or opportunity to lobby Rulers should never waste the chance.

There is a long way to go in getting an adequate understanding of the UAE's mammal life, both onshore and offshore. Most of our records are still of common species like hares and foxes, and while it is good to have them, there is a need also for records of less common species. As the reports below show, we have very few records of bats, while reports of smaller mammals like gerbils and jerboas are often imprecise.

As members may know, a new grid system for recording birds was instituted from January 1 1089. It will also be used for mammal recording purposes and, together with our planned use of computers, may help us to begin the preparation of distribution maps for the more common species, the Red Fox, for example, recorded this year in Khor Kalba, Shah, Umm al Qawain, Jebel Dhanna, Buraimi and all the way along the Suweihan Road. Nobody else is doing it as far as we know. Volunteers welcome.

Finally, I took over the task of Mammal Recorder just over a year ago in the hope of stimulating renewed activity in this important field. The substantial increase in the number of recordings (many, of course, due to our indefatigable 'Bish' Brown) is a pleasant reward. Anyone with an interest in mammals (knowledge not required), however, need not feel shy about volunteering their services as an Assistant Recorder (or even as Recorder) for 1989.

Three pairs, captive-bred in Dubai by Marijcke Jongbloed, have been sent to zoos in West and East Germany during 1988 in order to establish nuclei for captive-breeding programs in Europe. These, plus other pairs and young with MJ and in Dubai Zoo, are the only ones known in captivity. In mid-December, Marijcke's female was pregnant again, but new blood for the stock is urgently needed to avoid inbreeding. (Emirates News, 8/11/88)

April 1988?: family of four said to have been trapped on Jebel Haqah overlooking Wadi Bih. Three shot, one escaped. No other reports during the year. (Khaleej Times, 9/6/88)

(On December 19, I was informed by a local resident of Wadi Asimah in the Hajjar Mountains (Ras al Khaimah Emirate) that none had been seen locally for several years, though he knew of their continued existence in the higher mountains near Wadi Bih.)

The following is reprinted from the Gulf News of 29/9/88. (For 'Bedouins' read Shihuh, for 'tiger' read leopard. The language of the report is otherwise unchanged.)

(The reports of the leopards brings to at least six the number killed or captured in the last two years - evidence both that there are more around than once thought and that they are seriously endangered. On the assumption that the reporter could translate accurately - I guess the hunters know what they are trapping - the story is also evidence of the continued existence of hyena and lynxes. A Liwa-based Bedouin informed me on 22-12 that no wolves or hyenas are left in that area, however.)

The populations of all these large carnivores are increasingly endangered. A first, and vital, step to protect them is to secure the support of the Rule and Crown Prince of Ras al Khaimah, which could pave the way for an educational campaign and, possibly, for a compensation program for dead livestock.

Another initial stop worth considering might be the trapping of some live specimens for the zoos in Dubai and Al Ain to create a captive breeding stock, a step suggested by our Patron. Ideas on how this might be achieved would be gratefully received.

ENHG Recorders: Bish Brown (JNBB), Adrian Chapman, Stephanie Darbyshire (SD), Gary Feulner (GRF), Peter Hellyer (PH), Stuart Hodgson (SH), Ros Mack, Yvette van Hauwe (YvH), Chris van Riet (CvR), Rob Western (RAW).