Wadi Wurayah

The Wadi Wuraya Sanctuary (Arabic وادي الوريعة, DMG Wādī al - ʿ Wurai a) located in the United Arab Emirates in the north part of the Emirate of Fujairah in the coastal region of the Gulf of Oman Khor Fakkan between cities and al - Bidiya. It covers an area of 129 square kilometers and was established on 16 March 2009 by Sheikh Hamad ibn Muhammad ash- Scharqi. This makes it the first mountain protected area of the United Arab Emirates.

Climate, geography and vegetation

The climate is extremely hot and dry. In summer, temperatures up to 50 ° C may increase. In winter it is cooler. During this period the area receives the greatest rainfall. The average annual rainfall of the area is about 180 mm. The area includes dry mountain country, in which waters fall but with some very clean water. Unique to Wadi Wuraya are waterfalls that do not dry out. The highest elevation is 956 m above sea level. The area is home to about 300 different plant species. This includes larger trees, such as acacia trees on the most.

Wildlife

The reserve some of the rarest mammals in the world live. It forms one of the three world's last strongholds of the rare Arab Tahrs. With camera traps a rare subspecies of the wildcat ( Felis silvestris gordoni ) could be detected. Even the desert lynx, the Arabian mountain gazelle ( Gazella gazella cora ), the Afghan fox, and possibly a few more copies of the Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr ) occur in the area. Of the twelve proven mammal species 60 % are threatened. In addition, the reserve is home to 75 species of birds and 17 species of reptiles or amphibians.

A total of seven different types were detected from freshwater habitats.