Wildlife and birdwatching in the Middle East
Not reknowned for it's wildlife watching possibilities, there are still opportunities for the keen wildlife watcher.
Whales and dolphins of Oman.
Humpback whale breaching off Oman.
Oman is becoming known as a hotspot for cetaceans in the Middle East, whith dolphins abundant off the coast and increasing numbers of Humpback and even Blue whales sighted off the coast.
Recent Middle East news
- IUCN quotas
- Joint Iraqi and UK team set to work on major new conservation initiative in Iraq
- Leopard cubs caught on photo trap in Iran
- Strange molluscs spotted in Oman - ID required
- Northern bald ibis return to nest in Syria
- World’s oldest elephant tracks uncovered
- New road risk to Iran’s cheetahs & leopards
- Huge migration of tiny songbird revealed
- Illegal ivory trade blooms during Egypt’s Arab Spring
- Savage cruelty towards a mother Brown bear with two Cubs in Iran
- 25 permits issued to hunt Houbara bustards in Pakistan
- A fool and his money….
- Extinct frog rediscovered in Israel
- Why Libya needs to find time to think of conservation
- Some species and regions won’t be troubled by climate change – Some will suffer
More Middle East news
- Prey eats the hunter as beetle larvae turn tables on toads
- 25 new species discovered in UAE's Wadi Wurayah
- Arabian leopard – The world’s second rarest big cat needs your help
- Record flock of migrating Sociable Lapwings recorded in Kazakhstan
- Map highlights world’s most threatened coral reefs
- Greater flamingo breeding once again in Abu Dhabi wetland
- Emirates bird habitats under threat from development
- Critically Endangered Northern bald ibis rear two healthy young
- Arabian oryx moved from IUCN Endangered list – Many new entries
- Unprecedented bid to save plants of North Africa and the Middle East
- The Great Gulf Turtle Race is on
- Arrested: airline passenger with a ‘virtual zoo’ in his luggage
- IBA and proposed World Heritage Site in Egypt threatened by tourist development
- Unusual wildlife sighting in Iran
- Fine weather brings desert dragonflies to Britain
Related News Articles
IUCN quotasThere is much ado about the illegal wildlife trade, but there is also a huge amount of legal trade in wildlife products, some very rare indeed, that is permitted by CITES. Elephant tusks, rhino horn, chameleons, leopard tortoises, and cheetah, lion, & leopard hunting trophies all had CITES export quotas the 2011.
Read more »
For the first time in the last three years the remaining pair has successfully reared two healthy young, which have left the nest and have begun their migration to the highlands of Ethiopia.
Read more »
A female leopard was caught on a remote camera in January in Yemen. Excitingly, in February, a male leopard was photographed in the same area near the border with Oman, providing the hope that they might be breeding.
Read more »
New molecular evidence reveals a new species of grey wolf living in Africa. Formerly confused with golden jackals, and thought to be an Egyptian subspecies of jackal, the new African wolf shows that members of the grey wolf lineage reached Africa about 3 million years ago, before they spread throughout the northern hemisphere.
Read more »
Saddam Hussein attempted to destroy the marshes by draining them and denying them of water, and he nearly succeeded. After Saddam's fall, work started to restore the marshes, and by 2007 more than 50% of the marshes had been restored, but now the proportion of restored marshland has dropped to nearer 30%. The wildlife resurgence is under threat, and the Marsh Arabs who have returned face the prospect of having to leave again.
Read more »
Four dolphins kept in swimming pool in EgyptFour dolphins have been found in appalling conditions in a swimming pool in Hurghada, Egypt.
Read more »
Arabian oryx mass die off caused by a fence in Saudi Arabia Die-offs of large numbers of globally threatened Arabian oryx and Arabian sand gazelles were recorded from 1991 to 2008 in the fenced Mahazat as-Sayd protected area in Saudi Arabia. Researchers found that most deaths occurred during the summer, when rainfall was negligible. The animals starved to death because of the reduced availability, accessibility and quality of food plants in the area.
Read more »
First wild born cheetah for 40 years in Arabia 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.
Read more »
Camera traps set up in the mountainous area of Wadi Wurayah have captured an image of a rare breed of Wild cat (Felis silvestris lybica).
Read more »
One of the last remaining wild birds in the Middle East has been shot by a hunter in Saudi Arabia.
Read more »
Three of the world's rarest birds have been found poisoned in a remote Jordanian desert hundreds of miles from their breeding grounds in Turkey.
Read more »
Extinctions in Yemen continue with several important species teetering on the brink. These include the Nubian Ibex, an impressive animal which may literally be on its last legs in Yemen, and of course, the Arabian Leopard, the last of Arabia's great carnivores.
Read more »
Two Sightings of Northern Bald Ibis in Middle East Bring a Spark of Hope
Sightings of this incredibly rare bird in Djibouti and Ethiopia have raised hope that it might avoid extinction.
Read more »
Three Northern bald ibis, thought extinct in the Middle East until 2002, have been satellite tagged in an attempt to discover where they spend the winter.
Read more »
One of the world's rarest wild birds, the Northern bald ibis, should be supplemented with captive bred stock.
Read more »
Cheetahs in Iran; the last stronghold of the Asiatic cheetah.Latest reports from Iran are that, after a difficult 20 years, cheetahs are on the come back trail.
Read more »

