Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre () is a wildlife reserve and visitor centre located west of the coastal town of

Kalba Kalba () is a city in the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is an exclave of Sharjah lying on the Gulf of Oman coast north of Oman. Khor Kalba (Kalba Creek), an important nature reserve and mangrove swamp, is located south ...

in the

Emirate of Sharjah The Emirate of Sharjah (; ') is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates, which covers and has a population of over 1,400,000 (2015). It comprises the capital city of Sharjah, after which it is named, and other minor towns and exclave ...

, the U.A.E.

Facilities

Opened in 2016, the Conservation Centre is a

wildlife sanctuary A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geolog ...

and visitor centre, with some 30 animals preserved at the centre, including

Arabian leopard The Arabian leopard (''Panthera pardus nimr'') is the smallest leopard subspecies. It was described in 1830 and is native to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was widely distributed in rugged hilly and montane terrain until the late 1970s. Today, t ...

s, which are thought to now be

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

in the wild in the United Arab Emirates. It has been hailed as a major step forward in the conservation of endangered mountain species in the UAE, and in 2016, it won the Middle East Architect educational project of the year award. In March 2024, Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, unveiled the Al Hefaiyah Lake project.

Fauna

Developed by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (''Shurooq''), the Centre is operated by the Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority. The centre comprises a number of landscape enclosures in which mountain fauna are housed in their natural environment. Many of the species housed at the centre were previously at Sharjah's Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife (BCEAW) and are indigenous to the regions of Wadi Al Helo,

Khor Fakkan Khor Fakkan () is a city and an exclave of the Emirate of Sharjah, located on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), facing the Gulf of Oman, and geographically surrounded by the Emirate of Fujairah. The city, the second largest on ...

, and Kalba in Al-

Hajar Mountains The Hajar Mountains (, ''The Rock (geology), Rocky Mountains'' or ''The Stone Mountains'') are one of the highest mountain ranges in the Arabian Peninsula, shared between northern Oman and eastern United Arab Emirates. Also known as "Oman Mounta ...

. Outdoor animals include Arabian leopard,

rock hyrax The rock hyrax (; ''Procavia capensis''), also called dassie, Cape hyrax, rock rabbit, and (from some interpretations of a word used in the King James Bible) coney, is a medium-sized terrestrial mammal native to Africa and the Middle East. Common ...

Arabian The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

and goitered gazelles,

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized Felidae, 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 ...

Arabian oryx The Arabian oryx or white oryx (''Oryx leucoryx'') 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 area ...

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'', Genetics, ge ...

, Arabian wolf, and

striped hyena The striped hyena (''Hyaena hyaena'') is a species of hyena native to North and East Africa, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Hyaena''. It is listed by the IU ...

. In addition to the critically endangered leopard, the Arabian wolf ''(Canis lupus arabs)'' and Arabian tahr ''(Arabitragus jayakari)'' are designated threatened species by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN). Smaller species are housed indoors at the centre, and include snakes, lizards (such as uromastyx) and nocturnal hedgehogs. Visitors to the centre travel around the outdoor areas in golf buggies, with guides, and observe a number of animals in their natural habitat. The centre also plays host to art exhibitions, education programs, fundraisers and other events.

Artworks

The centre houses several permanent artworks commissioned by the EPPA (Environment and Protected Areas Authority), including six sound installations by Bradley-Weaver, local designer Khalid Mezaina and artist Joris De Raedt.

References

External links

مركز الحفية لصون البيئة الجبلية
(In Arabic)
مركز الحفية لصون البيئة الجبلية .. مشروع مزج التثقيف بالمعرفة
(

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

)
مركز الحفية لصون البيئة الجبلية ومركز كلباء للطيور الجارحة في الشارقة

Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre , Kalba , Location

Visiting Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre in Kalba Sharjah 27.09.2018

Arabian Tahr (''Arabitragus jayakari'') at Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre in Kalba Sharjah

{{authority control Wildlife sanctuaries of the United Arab Emirates Wildlife conservation Zoos in the United Arab Emirates

Facilities

Fauna

Artworks

See also

References

External links