Wednesday 30 / October / 2024
Muscat: For the first time a camera trap in Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve in the Sultanate of Oman has recorded a lynx preying on a white-tailed mongoose, which is slightly smaller than it.
A scientific report of Omani researchers highlights the predatory behaviour of the lynx in the mountains of the Dhofar Governorate.
The report, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Felidae magazine, in Switzerland, stated that the lynx was observed preying on several types of mammals, including small rodents and rock hyraxes.
In this context, Dr. Hadi bin Muslim Al Hakamani, a member of the research team, said: "These observations enhance our understanding of the predatory behaviour and diet of this type of medium-sized feline (7-14 kg). The report represents the first scientific observation of the lynx hunting the white-tailed mongoose in the Arabian Peninsula.
He explained that though the lynx is widely distributed in the Arabian Peninsula, little is known about its predatory behaviour and diet in the region.
So far only two studies are available, one of which is of an adult male animal that was tracked with a wireless device in the north of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1998, and another study in 2006, in the United Arab Emirates and the Musandam Peninsula, relied on the analysis of lynx dung samples.
The lynx is globally classified as “least threatened” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), but it is considered threatened with extinction according to regional assessments for North Africa, West and Central Asia, including the Arabian Peninsula.
For example, the lynx is considered a rare species in Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, while it is considered locally threatened in Turkey and India.
In the Sultanate of Oman, the lynx is widely distributed in the mountains of the Dhofar Governorate in the south, and its habitat extends to the Musandam Mountains in the far north, but it is not found in the sandy areas such as the Empty Quarter and the Sharqiyah Sands.
The threats facing the lynx vary in its global range, with habitat change due to agriculture and desertification being the main threat in central, western and northeastern Africa, while habitat loss due to paved roads and the construction of population centres are the main threats in the Arabian Peninsula.
Like other predators, the lynx depends on natural prey to survive, so changes in prey availability can directly impact its life strategies, population dynamics, and how it adapts in a rapidly changing world due to climate change.
Previous studies indicate that the lynx's diet in northern Saudi Arabia consisted mainly of rodents, especially the Libyan rat, and it was also observed feeding on the carcasses of small camels at times, the plains eagle and small deer, while in the United Arab Emirates the study found that the lynx's diet consists primarily of livestock, including goats and sheep, and evidence has been found of the Arabian (Egyptian) spiny mouse, and the remains of birds whose species have not been identified.
Field surveys in the mountains of Dhofar Governorate showed that the lynx preys on several types of small mammals, such as rodents, especially the African grass rat, the Arabian spiny rat, and the golden spiny rat. It has also been observed several times hunting the rock hyrax and the Arabian partridge, and in one case hunting the white-tailed mongoose.
The results of these surveys provide important information about the behaviour and diet of the lynx in the mountains of the Dhofar Governorate in particular and the Arabian Peninsula in general, especially for environmental agencies interested in protecting and reintroducing this animal in the region.
