Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

is a peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, bordering

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

to the south and surrounded elsewhere by the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bod ...

. A strait separates Qatar from the island kingdom of

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

Al Wabra Wildlife Preserve Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP) is a privately owned wildlife preserve in the heart of Qatar founded by Qatari Prince Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani. The preservation accommodates the World Heritage Cycad Gene Bank (WHCGB), which operates in con ...

was created to provide sanctuary for various species and is also a site for breeding programs. Species at the preserve include: Spix's macaw,

beira antelope The beira (''Dorcatragus megalotis'') is a small arid adapted antelope that inhabits arid regions of the Horn of Africa. It is the only member of the genus ''Dorcatragus''. Description The beira has a bushy tail and a coarse coat which is red ...

golden-headed lion tamarin The golden-headed lion tamarin (''Leontopithecus chrysomelas''), also the golden-headed tamarin, is a lion tamarin endemic to Brazil. It is found only in the lowland and premontane tropical forest fragments in the state of Bahia, and therefore i ...

dibatag The dibatag (''Ammodorcas clarkei''), or Clarke's gazelle, is a medium-sized slender antelope native to Ethiopia and Somalia. Though not a true gazelle, it is similarly marked, with long legs and neck. It is often confused with the gerenuk due ...

, ''

Encephalartos ''Encephalartos'' is a genus of cycad native to Africa. Several species of ''Encephalartos'' are commonly referred to as bread trees, bread palms or kaffir bread, since a bread-like starchy food can be prepared from the centre of the stem. The ge ...

'', Sudan cheetah and

North African ostrich The North African ostrich, red-necked ostrich, or Barbary ostrich (''Struthio camelus camelus'') is the nominate subspecies of the common ostrich from West and North Africa. It is the largest subspecies, making it the largest living bird. Evolu ...

Animals

Animals in

include

Asiatic jackal The golden jackal (''Canis aureus''), also called common jackal, is a wolf-like canid that is native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and regions of Southeast Asia. The golden jackal's coat varies in color from a pale creamy y ...

Cape hare The Cape hare (''Lepus capensis''), also called the brown hare and the desert hare, is a hare native to Africa and Arabia extending into India. Taxonomy The Cape hare was one of the many mammal species originally described by Carl Linnaeus ...

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

desert hedgehog The desert hedgehog (''Paraechinus aethiopicus'') is a species of mammal in the family Erinaceidae. Basic facts The desert hedgehog is one of the smallest of hedgehogs. It is long and weighs about . The quills (or spines to give their corre ...

red foxes The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, p ...

sand cat The sand cat (''Felis margarita'') is a small wild cat that inhabits sandy and stony deserts far from water sources. With its sandy to light grey fur, it is well camouflaged in a desert environment. Its head-and-body length ranges from with a ...

s, striped hyenas,

arabian sand gazelle The Arabian sand gazelle (''Gazella marica'') or reem () is a species of gazelle native to the Middle East, specifically the Arabian and Syrian Deserts. Distribution and conservation Today it survives in the wild in small, isolated populations ...

s, and Wagner's gerbils. Introduced species include the

dromedary The dromedary (''Camelus dromedarius'' or ;), also known as the dromedary camel, Arabian camel, or one-humped camel, is a large even-toed ungulate, of the genus ''Camelus'', with one hump on its back. It is the tallest of the three species of ...

; the

Arabian oryx The Arabian oryx (''Oryx leucoryx'') or white oryx is a medium-sized antelope with a distinct shoulder bump, long, straight horns, and a tufted tail. It is a bovid, and the smallest member of the genus ''Oryx'', native to desert and steppe areas o ...

has been reintroduced. Habitat includes arid and semi-arid desert, sand dunes, beaches, and mangrove islands. Upwards of 80

tahr Tahrs ( , ) or tehrs ( ) are large artiodactyl ungulates related to goats and sheep. There are three species, all native to Asia. Previously thought to be closely related to each other and placed in a single genus, ''Hemitragus'', genetic stud ...

s inhabit

Halul Island Halul Island ( ar, جَزِيرَة حَالُول, Jazīrat Ḫālūl) is one of the most important islands belonging to the State of Qatar. Lying about northeast of Doha, it serves as a storage area and loading terminal for oil from the surround ...

's hilly landscape, having expanded from a group of six individuals first transported to the island in 1963.

Birds

Common bird species include the Common Myna,

Rock Dove The rock dove, rock pigeon, or common pigeon ( also ; ''Columba livia'') is a member of the bird family Columbidae (doves and pigeons). In common usage, it is often simply referred to as the "pigeon". The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domes ...

White-Cheeked Bulbul The Himalayan bulbul (''Pycnonotus leucogenys''), or white-cheeked bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family found in Central and South Asia. Taxonomy and systematics The Himalayan bulbul is considered to belong to a superspecies ...

Eurasian Collared Dove The Eurasian collared dove (''Streptopelia decaocto'') is a dove species native to Europe and Asia; it was introduced to Japan, North America and islands in the Caribbean. Because of its vast global range and increasing population trend, it ha ...

Laughing Dove The laughing dove (''Spilopelia senegalensis'') is a small pigeon that is a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Western Australia where it has established itself in the wild after being released from Perth Zoo in 1898. T ...

and House Sparrow. Other notable species are

falcons Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

terns Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of ...

wagtails Wagtails are a group of passerine birds that form the genus ''Motacilla'' in the family Motacillidae. The forest wagtail belongs to the monotypic genus ''Dendronanthus'' which is closely related to ''Motacilla'' and sometimes included therein. ...

hoopoes Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single ...

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

, larks,

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari (bird), Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders ...

eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

and

sandpipers Sandpipers are a large family, Scolopacidae, of waders. They include many species called sandpipers, as well as those called by names such as curlew and snipe. The majority of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or soil. ...

. On the offshore territory of

, at least 38 species of seabirds have been observed.

Fuwayrit Fuwayrit ( ar, فويرط; also spelled as Fuwairat) is a coastal village in Qatar, located in the municipality of Ash Shamal approximately 90 km north of the capital Doha. It is an important site for Qatar's oil industry. Archaeological evi ...

is an important site for birds. A short-term survey in 2013 recorded upwards of 53 bird species off the coast.

Marine life

Marine habitats include coral reefs, tidal salt marshes, mangroves and sea-grass kelp beds. Marine species include Mollusca, as well as over 500 species of fish with the most common being blackspot snappers, two-bar seabreams and yellowbar angelfish. Other species are carangids, emperors, snappers and sweet lips as well as

barracuda A barracuda, or cuda for short, is a large, predatory, ray-finned fish known for its fearsome appearance and ferocious behaviour. The barracuda is a saltwater fish of the genus ''Sphyraena'', the only genus in the family Sphyraenidae, which was ...

goatfish The goatfishes are perciform fish of the family Mullidae. The family is also sometimes referred to as the red mullets, which also refers more narrowly to the genus '' Mullus''. The family name and the English common name mullet derived from La ...

grouper Groupers are fish of any of a number of genera in the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae, in the order Perciformes. Not all serranids are called "groupers"; the family also includes the sea basses. The common name "grouper" is ...

lizard fish The Synodontidae or lizardfishes(or typical lizardfish to distinguish them from the Bathysauridae and Pseudotrichonotidae) are benthic (bottom-dwelling) marine and estuarine bony fishes that belong to the aulopiform fish order, a diverse group ...

, rabbit fish,

sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorp ...

rays Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

and thread fins. There are also Chinese white dolphins, grey dolphins and black finless porpoises.Types of Animals in the Arabian Desert
Qatar Living

Dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

s are known to congregate off the country's coasts. In the course of a study being carried out in 1986 and 1999 on the

, the largest-ever group sightings were made of more than 600 individuals to the west of Qatar.

Ras Laffan Ras Laffan Industrial City ( ar, راس لفان, Ra’s Lafān) is an industrial hub located north of Doha, Qatar. It is administrated by QatarEnergy. Ras Laffan Industrial City is Qatar's main site for production of liquefied natural gas and ...

and

are the two most important

sea turtle Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhe ...

habitats in Qatar, their natural geography offering a suitable breeding ground, particularly within their sandspits. During the sea turtle breeding season (late spring and early summer), the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) closes certain beaches to visitors and periodically patrols nesting sites.

Livestock

Livestock include camels, sheep, and cattle. Insects and arthropods in the Arabian desert habitat include scorpions, spiders (including the large '' Galeodes arabs''), ants, bees, wasps, moths, butterflies and beetles. Scarab beetles (Scarabaeoidea) are the most common type of beetle on the peninsula and consume dung and plant material.

Reptiles

Reptiles include more than 100 lizard such as spiny-tailed agama,

geckos Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

, cobras, and horned vipers.

Natural areas

Protected areas of

include: * Al Shahaniyah Park in

Al-Shahaniya Al Shahaniya ( ar, الشحانية, Ash Shīḩānīyah) is a municipality (3299 km2) in Qatar, with its municipal seat has a city of the same name (39 km2). Formerly in the municipality of Al Rayyan, but now an independent municip ...

Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation (AWWP) is a privately owned wildlife preserve in the heart of Qatar founded by Qatari Prince Saud bin Muhammed Al Thani. The preservation accommodates the World Heritage Cycad Gene Bank (WHCGB), which operates in con ...

* Khor Al Udeid Fish Sanctuary * Al Reem Biosphere Preserve (designated in 2007) is part of the

World Network of Biosphere Reserves in the Arab States Under UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere Programme, there are 31 biosphere reserves recognised as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in the African States and Arab States. These are distributed across 12 countries in the region . Biosphe ...

* Ras Ushairij Gazelle Conservation Park * Al Thakira Nature Reserve in

Al Thakhira Al Thakhira ( ar, الذخيره, Adh Dhakhīrah, Ammunition) is a town on the coast of the Al Khor municipality in Qatar, about northeast of the city of Al Khor City and from the capital Doha. It is closely affiliated with Al Khor City, with b ...

* Khor Al Adaid in Khor Al Adaid * Ras Abrouq Nature Reserve (also known as Bir Zekreet (Zekreet Beach) in Ras Abrouq)Natural Landmarks
Qatar Tourism Authority * Umm Tais National Park

References

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