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Northwest Wildlife Online
Saudi Arabian Wildlife
Saudi Arabian Wildlife Home Saudi Birds Saudi Mammals Saudi Reptiles Saudi Insects Saudi Fossils
Just starting out on this unique tribute to some of the wildlife of the Middle East. We get plenty of bad news politically from this region of the world so let's take a break from all that and concentrate on the wildlife of the region. The photos are sparse at the moment, but I promise much better in the weeks to come. I'm also having some trouble with species identification in this region so any help you can offer is welcome. If you're interested in wildlife issues in the Middle East, try Wildlife Middle East News at this link: http://www.wmenews.com/newsletterv1I3.htm
No trip to the desert over here is complete without sighting the camels. A lot of the herds are tended by the Bedouins, but many animals do run free. Seeing them against the setting sun is beautiful.
The camels display a wide variety of colors; some are snow white.
Sometimes you meet beautiful blonds in unusual places.
The desert is, of course full of insects, spiders, and lizards. My apologies for not providing identification of these specimens. This particular lizard was found in abundance in the area of the red dunes pictured below. The spider was found in a particularly lifeless area; hours of searching yielded just this one spider and the one scorpion pictured below.
Scorpions, like camels are an inevitable part of the desert landscape. Note the very long stinger on this fellow who was not at all happy at my intrusion.
Fossil hunters have a ball over here. The are is especially rich with ancient sea life. On the right is one of many examples of coral fossils and to left is what appears to be the remains of a polychaete worm of some kind. The large rock is the size of a football and the the other is about the size of your pinky finger. Fossilized remains of giant snails are common, too.
Some contrasting views of the Saudi Desert: Wide, almost oasis like wadis, rocky cliffs, and red sand dunes. That devilishly handsome fellow in the photo below was very surprised to find that he liked the desert so much considering his predilection for Northwest rain.
Saudi Arabian Wildlife Home Saudi Birds Saudi Mammals Saudi Reptiles Saudi Insects Saudi Fossils
