Arabia: Working hard

Update from our wildlife conservation volunteering holiday in Dubai (UAE) working on oryx, wildcat and desert species

The clouds have gone and the sun is high in the sky again. Still, our Arabia desert expeditioners faced a couple of windy days, but also enjoyed pleasant survey temperatures throughout the day.

To Aline and Basil’s joy, four teams managed to complete 32 quadrat surveys within two days! Well done. The progress made is clearly visible on the map (outlined quadrats) – only a few in the north to go now.

One team found a dead fox, another team discovered an eagle owl hunting outlook under a fire bush, located on a steep sandy slope, overlooking a large gravel plain. Many pellets of different ages showed that this spot is used frequently for hunting by at least one owl. The location is definitely worth revisiting.

We have not spotted lappet-faced vultures for a few days now. But today a team is on the lookout specifically around the area where a gazelle was killed by a feral dog yesterday.

Apart from the field work, we will catch up with data entry and have included this activity in today’s planning.

Despite the the great effort put in by this group, most expeditioners make it to base camp before the survey de-brief at the DDCR office to take a quick shower or have a well-deserved a cup of coffee.

Update from our Arabia expedition in Dubai, UAE working as an oryx volunteer in the desert of the UAE