KSA wildlife body takes steps to protect rare species of birds

The Saudi Wildlife Commission (SWC), a body responsible for the conservation and development of wildlife in Saudi Arabia, has just concluded an environmental study to protect rare species of birds in the Kingdom.
These bird species include the Asian Houbara Bustard and the red-necked ostrich. All these species have been reintroduced into one or more of the Kingdom’s protected areas.
An SWC official said on Monday that a team recently concluded a field visit to Kazakhstan to follow up on the migration of Houbara Bustard birds. The team also conducted an environmental study on the birds, which spend autumn and winter in the north of the Kingdom and spring and summer in the south of Kazakhstan, he added.
A program launched in 2011 to follow up on their migration pattern shows that the birds migrate from the north of the Kingdom through Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and settle in the south of Kazakhstan every year, traveling more than 6,000 km back and forth.
It said that each migration round takes about two weeks, with speeds ranging between 50-70 kph. They fly continuously for more than 400 km at an altitude ranging between 1,000 -1500 meters.
The official said that the commission seeks to expand the program of increasing and resettling Houbara Bustard in suitable reserves in the Kingdom in the future and to continue scientific studies that support this rare species of birds.
The commission has already announced 15 areas for protection, covering about 85,000 square kilometers, which is about four percent of the Kingdom’s land area.
In order to breed certain indigenous species in captivity and then reintroduce them into the wildlife, the SWC has established two research centers — the National Wildlife Research Center in Taif (NWRC) for research and development (R&D) on wildlife conservation and the King Khaled Wildlife Research Center in Thumamah (KKWRC). The center works for public awareness on wildlife conservation. In 2008, it began captive breeding of the Arabian leopard, a project that is now succeeding.