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Most of the larger mammals of the UAE have suffered drastic declines
in recent decades, with several species now believed to be extinct.
One welcome exception is the mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella
cora) which is known to survive both in the mountains of the northern
Emirates and in the desert of Abu Dhabi and Dubai. They are more
frequently seen in the desert than in the mountains but this may
have more to do with the terrain than the actual numbers. The
taxonomy of gazelles in the Middle East is complex and confusing,
but is now being clarified with the help of genetic studies. The
gazelles we are concerned with here have in the past been called
Arabian gazelle (Gazella gazella arabica) but this is now considered
to be synonymous with G.g. cora. The gazelles in the mountains
are smaller and darker than those in the desert but they are believed
to be of the same subspecies. To avoid confusion we should call
them all mountain gazelle.
As so little was known about this important population of gazelles,
the Committee of the Emirates Natural History Group decided that
a coordinated census would be a very worthwhile exercise. The
dhabi of Abu Dhabi, and the Emirate’s largest land mammal, surely
merits a little attention from the country’s resident naturalists.
Accordingly, on 22 March about 80 members from the three Natural
History Groups, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Al-Ain, got together to carry
out a census of the gazelles in the desert bounded by the Abu
Dhabi to Dubai road, the Dubai to Al-Ain road and the Al-Hayer-Sweihan-Abu
Dhabi road. This is an area of a little over 3000 sq km. The census
was carried out by driving a series of parallel routes, following
the lines of the dunes to simplify the driving, from west southwest
to east northeast. Each route was covered by a pair of 4-wheel
drive vehicles, each with two to four people on board. There was
a total of 17 routes, but only 14 pairs of vehicles, so three
pairs drove two transects.
Everyone said that they enjoyed the experience and I think we
all learned a lot from it. The majority of people saw at least
one gazelle, and as many as 12 were sighted by one team. All were
believed to be mountain gazelle.The 21 locations marked on the
map represent sightings of individuals and groups of up to six
sighted on the day. Census results support previous observations
indicating that the greatest density of gazelles occurs in a centra
l area but that they are also to be found in lower numbers well
outside this cental core.
Fresh tracks were seen in many places, sometimes many kilometres
from where the nearest gazelle was sighted. In fact the total
area shown to be used by gazelles is very large – 75 km across
by about 40 km wide. It must be fair to say that gazelles are
utilizing virtually the entire study area with the exception of
the immediate vicinity of camel camps, plantations and palm groves.
The latter are mainly on the eastern edge, adjacent to the Dubai
to Al-Ain road. On the whole the gazelles were not particularly
nervous, sometimes stopping to look at the vehicles for a few
seconds before taking off. This suggests that they are not being
hunted and have bcome relatively tolerant of man. As there are
now virtually no natural predators in this area, it is reasonable
to hope that the numbers will increase.
The total number of gazelles seen on the census was 53, but as
three of these could have been counted twice by adjacent teams
of observers, we have to reduce this to 50. There was an unexpected
bonus at the end of the day when a member of the group on the
way back to the Al Shatie Palace Hotel spotted two more gazelles
only 100 m from the main road, between Samha and Ras Ghantoot.
This was well away from where any others had been seen earlier
in the day, so we can safely conclude that 52 different animals
were counted on the day.
Extrapolating to cover the area of land which was not covered
by any route, and the amount of dead ground, we can safely say
that the total number of gazelles seen will represent a maximum
of one third of the actual number present. In other words there
has to be at least 150 gazelles present and the figure could be
significantly higher.
One of the objectives of the census was to determine the maximum
range of the gazelle population. Another was to carry out a count
in a systematic manner which could be repeated. Both objectives
have been accomplished very successfully. It would be extremely
interesting to repeat the census every few years in order to monitor
the population. By carrying out a similar exercise it should be
possible to determine any significant changes in range and numbers.
The results are therefore important and useful, but perhaps the
greatest benefit was the opportunity for many members of the three
natural history groups to get together, to enjoy each others’
company and to know that they are making a significant contribution
to our knowledge of the natural history of UAE. I would like to
thank everyone who took part and helped in a variey of ways and
the rescue teams who stood by in the event of problems but whose
services, thankfully, were not required.