Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2023 | 15(12): 24443–24446

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8624.15.12.24443-24446

#8624 | Received 03 July 2023 | Final received 24 October 2023 | Finally accepted 28 November 2023

 

 

First confirmed record of Arabian Gazelle Gazella arabica Lichtenstein, 1827

(Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) on Masirah Island, off the coast of eastern Oman in the Arabian Sea

 

Taimur Al Said 1, Haitham Al Rawahi 2, Maha Al Ansari 3, Al Mutasim Al Hinai 4, Ahmed Al Amri 5,

Ahmed Al Wahaibi 6 , Ghasi Al Farsi 7 , Saud Al Wihibi 8  & Salman Al Farsi 9

 

1–9 Environment Authority, P.O Box 323, Muscat, P.C. 100, Sultanate of Oman.

1 taimur_a_alsaid@hotmail.com (corresponding author), 2 haitham.alr88@gmail.com, 3 maha.s.alansari@hotmail.com, 4 almutasim90@gmail.com, 5 ahmedamri87@gmail.com, 6 ahmed.alwahaibi150@gmail.com, 7 ghasi.alfarsi@hotmail.com, 8 saudalwahibi60@gmail.com, 9 alfarsisalman908@gmail.com

 

 

Editor: David Mallon, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK.              Date of publication: 26 December 2023 (online & print)

 

Citation: Al Said, T., H. Al Rawahi, M. Al Ansari, A.M. Al Hinai, A. Al Amri, A. Al Wahaibi, G. Al Farsi, S. Al Wihibi & S. Al Farsi (2023). First confirmed record of Arabian Gazelle Gazella arabica Lichtenstein, 1827 (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Bovidae) on Masirah Island, off the coast of eastern Oman in the Arabian Sea. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(12): 24443–24446. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.8624.15.12.24443-24446

  

Copyright: © Al Said et al. 2023. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.  JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the author(s) and the source of publication.

 

Funding: The National Survey of Biodiversity is fully funded by the Environment Authority of Oman.

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: The National Survey of Biodiversity is one of the objectives of the 2040 vision of Oman. This survey was made possible by the permission of the Chairman of the Environment Authority, H.E Dr Abdullah bin Ali Al Amri and under the direction of Mr. Zahran Al Abdulasalam, the Office for Conservation of the Environment, Environment Authority. Special thanks to the Environment Center of Wilayat Masirah under the direction of Mr. Majid Al Arami and the staff for their help. Furthermore, thanks to the department of Environment Control including the rangers: Mr. Yousuf Al Ghidani, Mr. Samer Al Naabi, and Mr. Mazin Al Ghusaini, for further assistance. Finally, yet importantly the Administration and Finance Departments for their help in logistics and administration work.

 

 

Abstract: In Oman, the Arabian Gazelle Gazella arabica is known to be distributed in the Hajar mountains of the north, desert plains in central of Oman, and Jabal Samhan foothills & Nejd area in the south. We report the first confirmed record of the Arabian Gazelle on Masirah island, 15 km off the mainland of eastern Oman. This finding was part of a national survey of biodiversity in Oman in which 29 camera traps were set to survey the majority of the island which covers about 400 km2. Only two camera traps detected Arabian Gazelle, in an area covering only 22 km2. The survey on the island suggests that the population is small and isolated. Future research studies are required both in the field of ecology and genetics.

 

Keywords: Camera trapping, conservation, Mountain Gazelle, Sultanate of Oman, ungulate.

 

 

The Arabian Gazelle Gazella arabica is one of the five ungulate species that occur in Oman along with the Arabian Oryx Oryx leucoryx, Arabian Tahr Arabitragus jayakari, Nubian Ibex Capra nubiana, and Arabian Sand Gazelle Gazella marica (Mallon & Kingswood 2001; Al Hikmani et al. 2015). Arabian Gazelle was previously known as Mountain Gazelle Gazella gazella before the species was split into two genetically distinct lineages (Lerp et al. 2013). The adult males and females have an average body weight of 22.5 kg and 18.3 kg, respectively, whilst the adult male has larger and thicker neck and horns compared to the adult female (Horwitz et al. 1990). The species is distributed across the Arabian Peninsula in arid and semi-arid environments (Harrison & Bates 1964). In Oman, they usually occur in habitats where the Vachellia tortilis (= Acacia tortilis; ‘simr’ in Arabic) trees appear, which they use as shade and feed on their leaves and seed-pods. Arabian Gazelles are usually found in both plains and rugged mountains but are likely to avoid rocky areas (Al Jahdhami et al. 2017). The species may once have been found in far north of Oman in Musandam governorate, but today they are likely to be locally extinct (Al Hikmani et al. 2015). Northern populations of Arabian Gazelles in Al Batinah governorate have also disappeared but smaller populations still exist in the foothills of the Hajar mountains (Al Hikmani et al. 2015). The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Al Wusta governorate previously held the largest population of Arabian Gazelles in Arabia with an estimate of 10,000 gazelles, but currently holds a small population (Mallon & Kingswood 2001; Al Hikmani et al. 2015; Al Jahdhami et al. 2017; Alsaid et al. 2019). In the south of Oman in Dhofar governorate, the Arabian Gazelle once occurred all over the arid areas such as the northern foothills known as (the ‘Nejd’), the gravel plains south of the Empty Quarter, and the southern coastal plain and plateau of the arid Jabal Samhan massif. It has never been reported in the monsoon habitats on Jabal Al Qamar and Jabal Al Qara. Today, only a small population exists in the Nejd and the southern coastal plains between Mirbat and Sadah (Al Hikmani et al. 2015). A more recent joint survey was conducted by the Office for Conservation of the Environment and the Ministry of Environment in 2019 on the gazelle population in Dhofar in the area running from Thumrait to Demeet. The survey area was approximately 1,547 km2 and consisted of flat rolling plains, and wadis. Distance sampling and analyses were used to collect and process line transect data. The population estimate for the area was calculated as 127 gazelles (). Ras As Shagar Nature Reserve and As Saleel Natural Park have the healthiest and largest wild populations of Arabian gazelle (Al Hikmani et al. 2015; Al Jahdhami et al. 2017; Ross et al. 2019). Threats such as habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, road kills and mainly poaching have caused population declines over the past few years. However, Oman remains the stronghold for Arabian Gazelle since the highest wild population resides in the country, due to conservation efforts (Mallon & Kingswood 2001; Strauss et al. 2009; Al Hikmani et al. 2015; Al Jahdhami et al. 2017).

Interestingly, reviews of the status and distribution of mammals in the Arabian Peninsula do not mention the presence of Arabian Gazelles on Masirah Island (Harrison & Bates 1964; Harrison 1968). Furthermore, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List also does not include Masirah island within the Arabian Gazelle distribution range. However, the BirdLife International Data Zone contains information on a bird survey conducted on Masirah Island in 1980 which reported a list of key bird species and non-bird species on the Island. They listed Cape Hare Lepus capensis jefferyi as being endemic to Masirah island and Mountain Gazelle Gazella gazella as present (BirdLife International 2023), although to date there has been no confirmed evidence (e.g., specimen, photograph).

The study area is Masirah Island (Figure 1) which lies in Ash Sharquiyah governorate and is Oman’s largest island. It lies 15 km off the mainland in the Arabian Sea. The total area of the island is 649 km2 and has a human population of 12,000 who are mostly concentrated in the north of the island where the Royal Air Force of Oman has a base (Abdul-Wahab et al. 2020). The island consists of a combination of mountains, cliffs and plains where the highest peak— Jabal Ash Shabbah lies north-east of the island at an altitude of ~210 m (Jansen 2023). The average annual rainfall is approximately 70 mm (Kwarteng et al. 2009).

A total of 29 camera traps (Spypoint & Bushnell) were placed by wildlife biologists and rangers of the Environment Authority on 4–18 December 2022. They were installed on rocks or boulders facing animal pathways and resting areas at a height of 0.25–0.75 m above the ground to survey large and medium mammals. The cameras used normal infrared sensors to trigger a three-photograph burst with a 5 s delay between captures. The camera trap sampling area was approximately 400 km2 (Figure 1).

Here we describe the first confirmed photographic sighting of Arabian Gazelle on Masirah using camera traps. The gazelles were photographed on the north-eastern cliffs of the island. Both camera traps (NM24) and (NM25) photographed a male Arabian Gazelle on 7 January and 22 February 2023 respectively (Image 2). Moreover, on 6 December 2022 during the camera trap survey conducted by the Environment Authority, remains of an Arabian Gazelle foot were found close to where the camera traps photographed both gazelles (Image 3). There were also recent sightings by locals in the area. Regardless of a fairly large camera trapping survey, only two individuals were captured by camera traps in an area covering only 22 km2. This indicates that the population may be both small and isolated. It is difficult to know the reason for the populations’ small size, however this population on Masirah island could be genetically different from the rest of the Arabian Gazelle population. Currently, an ongoing camera trap survey is being conducted on the island and this will provide a better understanding of their current distribution and population size. Further research on their genetics is required and therefore a plan is currently being designed to collect fecal pellets, tissue, and bone from the remains of dead Arabian Gazelle for genetic analysis to determine any genetic differences with the remaining Arabian Gazelle population in Oman. Another future research for the Arabian Gazelle in Masirah island would be to have a long-term camera trap study in place to understand their population status and distribution. Setting global positioning system (GPS) collars on Arabian Gazelle would allow us to gain an understanding of their home range estimation, movement patterns, and resource selection.

 

 

For images - - click here for full PDF

 

 

References

 

Abdul-Wahab, S.A., Y. Charabi, A.M. Al-Mahruqi & I. Osman (2020). Design and evaluation of a hybrid energy system for Masirah Island in Oman. International Journal of Sustainable Engineering 13(4): 288–297. https://doi.org/10.1080/19397038.2020.1790057

Al Hikmani, H., S. Zabanoot, T. Al Shahari, N. Zabanoot, K. Al Hikmani & A. Spalton (2015). Status of the Arabian Gazelle, Gazella arabica (Mammalia: Bovidae), in Dhofar, Oman. Zoology in the Middle East 61(4): 295–299.

Al Jahdhami, M.H., S. Al Bulushi, H. Al Rawahi, W. Al Fazari, A. Al Amri, A. Al Owaisi, S. Rubaiey, Z. Al Abdulasalam, M. Al Ghafri, S. Yadav & S. Al Rahbi (2017). The status of Arabian Gazelles Gazella arabica (Mammalia: Cetartiodactyla: Bovidae) in Al Wusta Wildlife Reserve and Ras Ash Shajar Nature Reserve, Oman. Journal of Threatened Taxa 9(7): 10369–10373. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3398.9.7.10369-10373

Alsaid, T., A. Aluwaisi, S. Albalushi, Z. Alabdulsalam, S. Alharsusi & S. Ross (2019). New record of Blanford’s Fox Vulpes cana (Mammalia: Carnivora: Canidae) in central Oman: a connection between the northern and southern populations. Journal of Threatened Taxa 11(9): 14244–14246. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4908.11.9.14244-14246

BirdLife International (2023). Important Bird Area factsheet: Masirah island. http://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/8231. Downloaded on 03 July 2023.

Harrison, D.L. (1968). The large mammals in Arabia. Oryx 9(5): 357–363. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300006992

Harrison, D.L. & P.J.J Bates (1964). The Mammals of Arabia. Vol 2. Benn, London, 354 pp.

Mallon, D.P. & S.C Kingswood (eds.) (2001). Antelopes: Global Survey and Regional Action Plans. North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, Part 4. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, 260 pp.

Jansen, M. (2023). Exposed ocean crust on Masirah Island, SE Oman: Crustal accretion and melt evolution at an ancient slow-spreading mid-ocean ridge. PhD Thesis. Cardiff University, 223 pp.

Horwitz, L.K., C. Cope & E. Tchernov (1990). Sexing the bones of mountain-gazelle (Gazella gazella) from prehistoric sites in the southern Levant. Paléorient 16(2): 1–12.

Kwarteng, A.Y., A.S Dorvlo & G.T Vijaya-Kumar (2009). Analysis of a 27-year rainfall data (1977–2003) in the Sultanate of Oman. International Journal of Climatology 29(4): 605–617. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.1727

Lerp, H., T. Wronski, T.M Butynski & M. Plath (2013). Speciation of Arabian Gazelles, pp. 59–82. In: M. Pawel (Ed.). Speciation: Natural Processes, Genetics and Biodiversity. Hauppauge, New York, 274 pp.

Strauss, M., Y.A Kharousi & A. Spalton (2009). Status of the mountain gazelle population in the Arabian Oryx Sanctuary of Oman. Wildlife Middle East News 3(4): 5.