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Wednesday 22nd July 2009

Competition launched to celebrate Abu Dhabi wildlife

His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, holding a young Arabian oryx before its release into the wild.

As part of Wildscreens unique partnership with the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi we are launching an exciting new competition to celebrate the rich biodiversity found within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

If you are a wildlife enthusiast with photos or films of species that can be found in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) then we want to hear from you. The very best audio-visual records of UAE wildlife will be chosen to sit alongside work from thousands of the worlds finest filmmakers and photographers on ARKive, with an overall winner receiving a copy of Planet Earth signed by Sir David Attenborough.

Already, films and photographs of 364 UAE species, such as the sooty falcon and Arabian oryx, have been banked in the ARKive vault and are available online. The winning entries will form part of this unique collection, playing a vital role in the promotion of environmental awareness and conservation within the region.

Mr Majid Al Mansouri, Secretary General for the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, said, We are extremely pleased with the progress of the ARKive project in working with us to document our precious endangered species here in the UAE. We not only want this project to be accessible to everyone but also for people to feel as though they too have played their part in preserving the UAE. I look forward to viewing the entries of this competition."

How to enter

If you have images or film clips of species that can be found in the UAE either upload them to www.flickr.com/groups/ARKive with the tag UAE species or e-mail them to us at arkive@wildscreen.org.uk

The closing date for the competition will be Friday 28th August, 2009. Winners will be notified by e-mail and announced by Friday 11th September, 2009.

UAE Species

The United Arab Emirates are home to a multitude of fascinating species. Here are just a few of those that have already been profiled on ARKive:

Sooty falcon (Falco concolor)

image: Sooty falcon in flight, dorsal view

The sooty falcon is one of only six species of completely migratory birds of prey worldwide that breed in the northern hemisphere and overwinter in the southern hemisphere. In the Abu Dhabi Emirate, the only United Arab Emirate where this species breeds, only six breeding pairs are known to remain. Fortunately, the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi is currently devoting significant efforts towards conserving this remarkable bird.

Arabian oryx (Oryx leucoryx)

image: Male Arabian oryx showing flehmen behaviour

Following the Second World War, the availability of firearms and motorised transport, along with the demand for sport hunting drove the wild population of the Arabian oryx to extinction. Thankfully, through a program of captive breeding and reintroductions, this species can once again be seen wandering the dry Arabian Peninsula. In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, a release program for the Arabian oryx was begun in 2007, and has since released around 100 animals into the wild.

Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari)

The Arabian sand boa is one of the most common snakes in the United Arab Emirates. Rarely encountered by man, this harmless and nocturnal snake lives almost permanently under the desert sand. Interestingly, unlike most boas, which give birth to live young, the Arabian sand boa is one of only three boa species that lay eggs.

Crab plover (Dromas ardeola)

The crab plover is remarkable for being the only representative of the Dromadidae family, which means that in evolutionary terms this unusual shorebird has no close living relatives. The entire population of the crab plover, which is thought to number between 60,000 and 80,000 birds, breeds in colonies at a small number of sites around the southern Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, many of which are, as yet, undiscovered. Within the United Arab Emirates the crab plover's breeding colonies, located on two islands in the Abu Dhabi Emirate, receive formal protection, thereby safeguarding this charismatic bird against potential threats such as coastal development.

Visit MyARKive to view a selection of images and videos in the Species of the United Arab Emirates scrapbook.

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