In view of the need for identifying the
current status of the order Carnivora in Wadi Rum Reserve, a four-month
baseline survey was initiated on 1 December 1998 and ended 31 March 1999. Objectives for the carnivore survey in Rum were as follows:
·
Establishment of the presence and distribution of the
carnivores in the Wadi Rum Reserve.
·
Estimation of the population of
these species.
·
Assessment of the ecological and
conservation status (threats and trends) of these species.
·
Identification of key species and
key areas and to provide the conservation and management guideline for these
species.
·
Assessment of carnivore-human
interactions including livestock predation and hunting pressure.
Carnivores are good indicators of the health
of a system being at the top of the food chain making them important to
study. Different animals in the
families Canidae, Felidae, Hyaenidae, and Mustelidae were targeted in this
survey. A total of 62 days of
fieldwork was done, using six different field techniques to verify the
presence or absence of target carnivore species in the study area.
Techniques chosen in the present survey were based on the behavior
and daily activity patterns of the target species.
Results from this survey indicated the actual
or potential presence of nine carnivore species inside the reserve: Four of
those species were recorded during the span of the study and considered as
key species that should be considered in the management plan and in future
monitoring for the reserve; They are the gray wolf (Canis lupus), the
Blanford's fox (Vulpes cana), the caracal (Caracal caracal),
and the wild cat (Felis silvestris). Another key species likely to be
found in Rum but whose occurrence was not confirmed during the present study
is the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena). Other key species that were
recently present in the reserve (within the span of one generation) and were
not found in the present survey for various reasons are the sand cat (Felis
margarita), the Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus), and the Arabian
leopard (Panthera pardus). The red fox (Vulpes vulpes) was
also found in the reserve and is considered to be common.
Important areas for sustaining viable
populations of the key carnivore species in Rum are as follows:
1.
Mountain cliffs with the minimum disturbance and presence of several
seepages (Qattar mountain). Because
of this, Qattar is proposed as a core area.
2. Areas with surface springs (springs of Lawrence and Shallaleh
springs).
3. Wide sand dune areas with good vegetation cover or a potential for
development of good cover if protection is secured (Hadabat Qara, Wadi
Ramman and wadi Um Ishreen).
4. An area that gives corridors for big carnivores to cross from the
refuge southern Saudi-Jordan mountains into the reserve (the proposed
extension sector south-southeast of the reserve).
Population sizes of the carnivores recorded
in this study do not give accurate estimates of the condition of these
species inside the reserve. All
targeted species, except for the leopard, were recorded elsewhere in Jordan
with no estimate to their population sizes.
Several threats are facing carnivores inside
and outside the reserve. Persecution
because of livestock predation, degradation of their natural food sources,
and disturbance are three major threats.
Use of the land by locals also ultimately affects the carnivores that
live there. Activities of
people from outside the region affect carnivores mostly through tourism.
Campsites, fires, 4-wheeling, motorcycling, ballooning, and climbing
all disturb animals in their natural setting and may be destroying habitat
and den sites and driving the animals out of the area.
In addition to achieving both short and
long term goals of the reserve, the following actions are recommended:
·
A relatively undisturbed area south of the reserve boundary
was noticed in the preliminary zoning plan for the reserve.
This area was studied and sampled as any other site in the reserve to
investigate the state of its naturalness.
Results from this area indicate that incorporating it with the
reserve and redefining the reserve's borders accordingly will not only
extend the reserve's undisturbed habitat in terms of grazing, local people,
and tourism but will also give large carnivores currently taking refuge in
the Jordan-Saudi border’s mountains a corridor from which to cross to the
reserve if proper protection is given.
·
A buffer zone that surrounds the reserve is suggested with its
southern part to extend to the Saudi borders in the south.
·
Since movement of vehicles inside the reserve along with
associated tourism activities are likely to be two of the major causes of
disturbance for carnivores and other wildlife in the reserve, organizing the
tourism industry in Rum should be a top priority for the management.
·
Grazing should be regulated.
The loss of vegetation due to overgrazing affects the presence and
abundance of carnivore prey species. It
should be stopped permanently inside the proposed core area of Jebel Qattar
and in another two wadis: Wadi Shallaleh and Lawrence pools
(7-33-950E/32-75-300N and 7-33-750E/32-73-800N respectively).
·
The RSCN should start to engage rangers in the reserve
management activities that are possibly affecting carnivores, such as
grazing, hunting and illegal trespassing.
·
Bedouins have invested large amounts of money into areas
inside the reserve for different constructions like concrete dams, water
gathering wells, and storage rooms. These
should be modified to reduce possible accidents with carnivores and other
wildlife in the area.
·
Big numbers of Bedouins in Rum prefer to use the desert roads
rather than main asphalt roads to access Aqaba.
A full study of the movement of local people in the reserve should be
made and decisions regarding limiting the passages should be made to reduce
the disturbance to carnivores and other wildlife.
·
Regulations against poisoning of foxes and other animals
should be formulated and enforced by the management.
Hunting should be stopped through rangers and through public
awareness campaigns. When
violations of those regulations occur they should be vigorously and
immediately sorted in court, even for the smallest incidents.
Laws against hunting and poisoning should be made clear for the local
people and for visitors of the reserve, and consequences of violating such
laws should also be clear.
·
One important task for the management of the reserve along
with a joint effort of the Public Awareness, Research and Survey, and the
Reserves Section is to launch a public awareness campaign that will change
the perspective of the local people toward carnivores in Rum area.
Apparently, the local people consider carnivores as rivals that
should be persecuted as soon as they are spotted.
Caracals, hyenas, leopards, and wolves are and always have been under
heavy persecution by the local people.
·
Monitoring carnivores in Rum can be a good measure of
management success for the reserve and should have criteria and thresholds.
Two methods are advised to be included in the monitoring plan of the
reserve at least once a year, trapping and transects (both spotlight and
spoor). Those methods should be
done by the reserve staff themselves and under the supervision of the
Research and Survey Section in the RSCN.
An annual report should be prepared by the management of the reserve
to include information such as detailed and standardized records of
carnivores and livestock attacks. This
report will help the management to measure the ecological objectives of the
carnivores in the reserve’s management plan.
·
A separate study should be performed to understand the
behavior of the gray wolf in Rum area.
This should be one of the priority studies to be done in the reserve
regarding the impact of wolves on the livestock of local Bedouins and the
resulting execution of the attacking and non-attacking individuals.
A separate study of the hyrax population in the reserve should be
planned and conducted in the near future.
·
A separate carnivore survey should be carried out in the area
south of the reserve reaching the Saudi borders for the importance of this
area to large carnivores like the hyena, gray wolf, leopard and caracal.
