ARKive e-news, September 2008

A great favourite with falconers, the saker falcon is a large, powerful bird of prey with an exceptionally broad wingspan for its size. This bird has undergone a rapid decline in recent years, particularly in the Middle East and Asia due to trapping for the falconry trade, and now faces the very real threat of extinction. Certain countries, including the UAE, have reduced the demand for wild-caught birds by captive breeding saker falcons to trade to falconers instead. A programme to erect artificial nest platforms in the Mongolian steppe is also proving a significant conservation measure for the breeding saker falcon population. Constructing artificial nests prevents the falcon constructing nests on electricity pylons, during which many are electrocuted.

A striking bird resembling a turkey in shape, the houbara bustard is at its most magnificent during the courtship display. The male ruffles the feathers of his crest, neck and head and raises his wings. He walks steadily in a large circle or straight line, with the tail raised and fanned out, occasionally lowering his wings. Abruptly, the male then begins to leap back and forth as he attempts to attract the attention of the female. The traditional practice of hunting houbara bustards by Middle Eastern falconers has reduced populations significantly, particularly on their wintering grounds. This over-hunting has been compounded by habitat loss and degradation. However, more recently there has been an extensive houbara bustard captive breeding programme, resulting in the restocking of areas where it is heavily hunted.

The green turtle is the most commonly occurring turtle in the UAE, where thousands of turtles go to feed on the rich seagrass, particularly in the waters off the coast of western Abu Dhabi. Green turtles are long-lived and may take up to 59 years to reach sexual maturity. Undertaking tremendous feats of navigation, adults return from its shallow feeding grounds to the same beach to breed each season. Green turtles are over-harvested in many areas for both their meat and eggs. However, one of the most worrying threats in recent years has been an increase in fibrous tumours that can grow on almost any part of a turtle's body, impeding movement or sight, and often leading to death. Very little is known about the disease, although there may be a link with coastal areas used heavily by humans.

At one time extinct in the wild, this desert antelope can once again be seen wandering the dry Arabian Peninsula. The Arabian oryx is highly specialised for its harsh desert environment with a bright white coat to reflect the sun's rays and splayed, shovel-like hooves that provide a large surface area with which to walk on the sandy ground. Once widespread on the Arabian Peninsula, the last wild oryx was shot in 1972 and the species persisted only in captivity for a decade. The first herd was released into a small enclosure in the late 1970s, followed by release into the wild in Oman in 1982. The re-introduction of the Arabian oryx represents a remarkable conservation success story and an example of what international co-operation can achieve.

The Arabian tahr is considered to be the smallest of all the tahr species. Males sport impressive manes that extend right down the back and grow longer with age. Older males also grow a rather grand beard and the black muzzle and eye stripes become darker. The Arabian tahr is endemic to the Hajar Mountains of the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman and is found amongst steep, precipitous slopes of rocky, barren mountains. Like ibex species, the Arabian tahr has developed rubbery hooves that provide grip and traction on the steep, rocky slopes of its mountainous habitat and it is capable of climbing near vertical cliff faces.

Blandford's fox was only confirmed as present in the UAE in 1995, although it has since been found to be common in the Hajar Mountains and Jebel Hafit. Usually found in semi-arid mountainous regions, they are extremely agile and exceptional jumpers. Blanford's fox occurs in protected areas in Israel, Jordan and Oman. There is a hunting ban in Jordan and Oman, but sadly there is no legal protection in many other countries. Blanford's foxes have been successfully bred in captivity at the Hai Bar Breeding Centre in Israel and also at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife in the UAE, providing potential for future reintroductions into the wild. More information on the behaviour and ecology of this species is desperately required, together with a better understanding of the threats it faces in the eastern parts of its range. Such information might help to increase the legal protection of this unusual, inquisitive, feline-like fox.

The UAE's extensive seagrass beds are home to the Vulnerable dugong . These large, rotund animals have short front flippers and a fluke-like tail that is used for propulsion. The thick skin is a grey-bronze colour and there are short, coarse hairs sparsely distributed over the body but concentrated as bristles on the muzzle. Traditionally persecuted by humans throughout much of their range for their meat, hide and oil; their rather slow movement, large size and dependence on coastal habitats has made dugongs particularly vulnerable to human impacts.

The Arabian leopard clings to a desperately precarious existence. With an official estimate of probably no more than 250 mature individuals and a declining trend, this cat edges ever closer to the jaws of extinction. The Arabian leopard is the largest and most powerfully built of all Arabian cats, but is thought to be the smallest of the 15 leopard subspecies. Formerly common throughout the Arabian Peninsula, only small scattered populations now remain. Hunting, of both the leopard and its prey, has had a dramatic impact on the cat's survival, contributing to it becoming one of the rarest animals in the world today. Sadly, significant conflict arises from many people considering the leopard to be a threat to their domestic stock.

The enormous colonies of Socotra cormorants form a spectacular sight. With their primarily black plumage, bill, and legs, the mass of jostling black shapes almost appear like a single moving organism, blanketing and enveloping the sandy bays on which they live. This large bird has an extremely restricted range, with two subpopulations now breeding at a total of just nine locations. The relatively large but extremely restricted population of Socotra cormorants is primarily threatened by the fast pace of coastal development on its breeding islands for residential and tourist use, which is disturbing and displacing many colonies.

One of the largest vultures, the lappet-faced vulture dominates other vultures when feeding and is even powerful enough to fend off a jackal. This broad-winged bird is easily recognised by its conspicuous size, bare, pink-skinned head and distinctive fleshy folds of skin, known as lappets, on the sides of its neck, from which it earns its common name. The lappet-faced vulture is primarily a scavenger, preferring to feed on the carcasses of smaller animals such as gazelle and hares. Unusually for vultures, however, this species also occasionally hunts and kills live prey, including small mammals and birds, in addition to feeding opportunistically on eggs, and possibly termites and locusts.

Dick Emery, Wildscreen Chairman; Harriet Nimmo, Wildscreen CEO; and Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of EAD

The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD) is a governmental agency that was established in 1996 with the overall function of protecting and conserving the environment as well as promoting sustainable development in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. The Agency is responsible for assisting the Federal Environmental Agency and the UAE Ministry of Environment and Water in implementing environmental laws and putting forth regulation orders in the capital.

Every year the Agency sets increasingly ambitious goals for itself to achieve the best possible results for the environment. Beginning with only 20 employees in 1996, compared to around 300 today, it continues to grow and achieve new milestones in order to provide a cleaner and healthier environment for the inhabitants of the Emirate.

"Abu Dhabi is an environmental haven waiting to be explored. We have taken the initiative to further our projects and to develop Abu Dhabi to become one of the most environmentally advanced areas in the world. With the Masdar initiative (a planned city in Abu Dhabi, which will rely entirely on solar energy and renewable energy sources) embracing renewable and sustainable energy technologies, and conservation projects that the EAD are working on in order to preserve our environment, we are preparing Abu Dhabi for the future. Working with Wildscreen and the ARKive project we will be able to highlight Abu Dhabi as a safe haven for the vast variety of species present in the Emirates."

Mr Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General of The Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, www.ead.ae

Sunday 19th - Friday 24th October is the Wildscreen Festival

Programme of events and workshop registration now available.

The week's programme is now being finalised and you can view a daily timetable of talks, debates, workshops and social events on the Festival website at www.wildscreenfestival.org . Over the coming weeks we will add more details of speakers, film screenings and trade show exhibitors.

You can also receive regular updates through the Festival website, at: www.wildscreenfestival.org .

If you have any queries about the Festival please contact either Nicola Reeves or Sara Hill on +44 (0)117 328 5950 / 5972 or info@wildscreen.org.uk .

WildPhotos 2008 - Friday 31st Oct & Saturday 1st Nov

Royal Geographical Society, Kensington, London

WildPhotos is back! Following the success of last year's event, Wildscreen will once again be organising a two-day symposium for both professional and amateur photographers hosted by Chris Packham. There is no other event in the UK which brings together a group of such world-class photographers. Confirmed speakers include Jim Brandenburg, Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2008 winners and many more.

View the full programme at: www.wildphotos.org.uk .

We are always open to suggestions of threatened species that should be included in ARKive. If you have media, or know of its existence, for a threatened species that we have not yet covered, or can add to the collections already in ARKive, then please do let us know. You can contact the ARKive media team on: arkive@wildscreen.org.uk.

To find out which species the ARKive media research team are currently working on or to view our most wanted species, please visit the ARKive species lists .