Endangered Houbara Bustard at Desert Islands For Winter
15 Dec 2009
Three Houbara Bustards, two females and one male, have settled in an area north east of the Arabian Wildlife Park where they can often be seen foraging on the pasture in the morning.
This medium sized, terrestrial bird is often found in desert rangelands and steppe habitat. Their natural distribution covers North Africa, Arabia and central and southern Asia. Wild Houbara are migratory birds and winter visitors to Abu Dhabi arriving in the Emirate around the end of September.
Culturally, the Houbara is a very important bird in the UAE; it has strong ties with the history and culture of the country and the traditional desert way of life. Sir Bani Yas Island has also received a number of Houbara Bustards from the National Avian Research Centre (NARC) in Abu Dhabi in 2009.
The release of these Houbara is part of a large breeding programme run by NARC and launched by the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, former founder and President of the UAE, 18 years ago to preserve the endangered Houbara Bustard from extinction. He believed that the UAE could provide a suitable habitat for these birds.
The Houbara released on Sir Bani Yas Island are fitted with radio transmitters so their movements can be tracked by the scientists at NARC.
From the Desert Islands Wildlife & Conservation department
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