Survey carried out on Masirah Island to monitor deer and rabbits

Muscat: As part of the project of the National Survey of Biodiversity, the Environment Authority carried out surveys on Masirah Island in which it found the species of deer and remains of a dead gazelle in the northeastern part of the island.

The team was able to monitor extensively the footprints of rabbits in separate and vast parts, and record 7 species of wild birds and two types of reptiles, in addition to more than 15 species of wild plants.

The surveys included 32 sites distributed throughout the island, between plains, valleys and mountainous areas, through the installation of 29 trap cameras to get vital data associated with their locations for establishing a national database for species, updating their areas of existence and record changes in them for improving the rank of the environmental performance index of the Sultanate of Oman in terms of diversity.

A number of members of the project's main team and supervisors from the two natural reserves of Al-Surain and Ras Al-Shajar, in addition to specialists from the Environment Center in the Wilayat of Masirah, participated in the survey.

It is worth noting that this project was launched with the aim of gathering accurate statistics for the census of all types of wild mammals of medium and large size to identify priority protection areas and to publish and document the biodiversity of the Sultanate of Oman.