Journal of
Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2018 | 10(7):
11928–11933
A first confirmed record of the Indian Crested Porcupine Hystrix indica (Mammalia: Rodentia:Hystricidae) in the United Arab Emirates
Maral K. Chreiki1, Mark D. Steer 2, Sami Ullah Majeed 3, Swamiti Kakembo 4 & Steve Ross 5
1 Environment Department, Dubai
Municipality, Dubai, P.O. Box 67 DXB, United Arab Emirates
Previously at: Wadi Wuarayah National Park, Fujairah Municipality,
Fujairah, United Arab Emirates
2 Centre for Research in Biosciences, University of the West of
England, Cold Harbour Lane, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK
3,4 Wadi WurayahNational Park, Fujairah Municipality, Fujairah, P.O. Box 7, United Arab
Emirates
5 Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, P.O. Box 246, P.C. 100, Muscat,
Sultanate of Oman
1 maralchreiki@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 mark.steer@uwe.ac.uk, 3 samimajeed2@gmail.com,4 kakemboswamit@gmail.com, 5 steveross.oce@gmail.com
Abstract: We report the first records of the Indian Crested Porcupine
(Hystrix indica; Kerr,
1792) in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE), approximately 600km beyond its known range in
Arabia. Images of H. indica were taken by camera traps at two locations in Wadi Wurayah National Park
(WWNP), Fujairah, in three separate events in 2015 and 2016. Long-term occupancy of porcupines was confirmed
via social surveys conducted in four villages bordering WWNP. These findings represent a previously
unrecorded and most likely isolated subpopulation of H. indica. Further study is warranted to assess
the genetic and demographic resilience of the population.
Keywords: Camera trapping, conservation, Indian
Crested Porcupine, Rodentia, United Arab Emirates.
doi: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4093.10.7.11928-11933 | ZooBank:urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:B9201C60-6B81-42AD-9B52-72474B60C19A
Editor: Giovanni Amori,
National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Italy. Date
of publication: 26 June 2018 (online & print)
Manuscript details: Ms# 4093 | Received 21 February 2018 | Final received 28 March 2018 | Finally
accepted 22 May 2018
Citation: Chreiki, M.K., M.D. Streer, S.U. Majeed, S. Kakembo & S. Ross (2018).A first confirmed record
of the Indian Crested Porcupine Hystrix indica (Mammalia: Rodentia: Hystricidae) in the United Arab Emirates. Journal
of Threatened Taxa 10(7): 11928–11933; http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4093.10.7.11928-11933
Copyright: © Chreiki et al. 2018.
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and
distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of
publication.
Funding: Fujairah CrownPrince Office.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgments: The authors are grateful to His Highness
Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqithe Crown Prince of Fujairah Emirate. Our appreciation is also extended to the park management authority
(Fujairah Municipality) the Municipality Manager, H.E. Eng. Mohamad Saif Alafkham, Ms. Aseelah Al Mualla, Director of
Public Services and Environment Department and Eng. FatmaAl Sharary, head of Environment Department and Dr. Ali Al Hamoudy, WWNP Manager
for their personal support since the establishment of WWNP in 2009. We thank Gary Feulner,
chairman of the Dubai Natural History Group, for a thoughtful and conscientious
review of the manuscript and Dr. Jim Sanderson for his kind support and
guidance on camera trap data base management. We would also like to highlight the
tremendous efforts by the dedicated team of Wadi Wurayah rangers, Sami Ullah Majeed, Swamiti Kakembo, Omar Kamel and Tharindu Kavinga for their important role in maintaining the camera
trap network. Thanks are due as
well to all the volunteers from Ministry of Climate Change and Environment in
UAE, Al Ain Zoo, Environment and Protected Areas Authority in Sharjah “EPAA”, Environment Department in Dubai
Municipality and Dibba Fujairah Municipality.
Appreciation is also extended to dedicated individuals who contributed to
camera trapping fieldwork including Anniek Boshoven, Liselore Vercaempst, Khalifa Al Abdouly, Sultan Yamahi.
Hystrix indica (Family Hystricidae)
is the largest rodent occurring in the Arabian Peninsula (Harrison & Bates
1991). Although it is widely distributed throughout southwesternAsia, parts of central Asia, and the Middle East (Kadhim1997; Kryštufek & Vohralík2009; Spalton & Al-Hikmani2014; Amori et al. 2016; Fig. 1), there have been no
confirmed records of the species in northern Oman or the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), except for one anecdotal reference from Abu Dhabi Emirate (Gasperetti 1967). Even though the habitats available in these areas appear suitable, as
there was no reliable evidence of their existence in the UAE (Cunningham 2004),Hystrix indicawas not included in the mammalian Red Data List of Abu Dhabi (Tourenq & Drew 2005).
H. indica is nocturnal and generally lives in small family groups, spending the
day resting in burrows, caves or crevices (Qumsiyeh1996). It feeds on roots, bulbs,
bark and other plant parts (Aulagnier et al. 2009)
and is known to forage in cultivated habitats.
Conservation
threats to H. indica in the
Middle East include habitat destruction and disturbance, hunting, persecution,
and pesticides (Aspinall& Hellyer 2005; Doç& Yürümez 2016). Despite being globally listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species (Amori et al. 2016), within many individual countries H. indica is considered threatened due to consumptive
hunting, including in Turkey, Palestine, Jordan and India (Qumsiyeh 1996; Amret al. 2004; Doç & Yürümez2016). In addition, in Iran and Pakistan it is
persecuted as an agricultural pest (Hafeez et al. 2011; Khan et al. 2014). Anecdotal reports suggest that hunting also occurs in Yemen, Saudi
Arabia and Syria, although H. indica is not considered threatened in these countries. In western Arabia, it is considered too scarce to pose aneconomic threat to agriculture (Kingdon1991).
Here we
describe the first confirmed records of H. indica in
the UAE and subsequent interviews carried out to confirm the period of
persistence of the species in the area.
Methods
Study Area
Wadi Wurayah National Park (WWNP) was designated by the Ruler of
Fujairah in 2009 and managed by Fujairah Municipality, Environment
Department. WWNP is a mountainous
protected area, located in Fujairah Emirate, UAE (25.3967700N &
56.2696080E) and within the Hajar Mountain
Range (Tourenq et al. 2009). The total area of WWNP is 222km2,
divided into three administrative zones: the buffer zone 96km2, the
core zone 117km2 and the eco-tourism zone 9km2 (Appendix
1). The area is considered typical
of the Arabian Highland Woodlands and Scrublands Eco-region (Olson & Dinerstein 2002). The dominant vegetation is mostly low-growing woody perennials, well
adapted to high temperatures and long periods of drought (Feulner2016).
Camera trapping
Since
2006 Fujairah Municipality has used camera traps to monitor wildlife, poachers
and intruders within WWNP. Since
initiation, the camera trap distribution has developed into a systematic
monitoring network of the core zone of the park. The primary objective of the monitoring
network is to ascertain and monitor the status of species, and to inform the
management on how the ecosystem is responding to management actions. The camera-trapping network has expanded
over the last 11 years, and now 89 camera traps monitor the core zone of WWNP,
using a stratified random distribution facilitated by 2x2 km grid squares
covering WWNP.
The
main species targeted for camera trapping are Arabian Tahr Arabitragus jayakari,
Caracal Caracal caracal schmitzi, Red Fox Vulpes vulpes arabica, Blanford’s Fox Vulpes cana, Gordon’s Wildcat Felis silvestris gordoni and
feral and domestic goats Capra hircus.
The
camera traps used for wildlife monitoring included Bushnell-Trophy cam HD
119476, 119676 and No-Glow 119776, and ReconyxHyperfire-PC800. Camera traps were
equipped with PIR sensors triggered by a combination of temperature and
motion. The camera traps were
set-up 50–150 cm above the ground, targeting wildlife routes to enhance
detection probability. Cameras were
set to record three photographs per event with a five-second interval between
events, using medium LED control, normal sensor level and no bait. The camera traps were maintained every
6-8 months.
Social Surveys
Following
confirmation of the presence of H. indica by
camera traps, we conducted unstructured interviews to ascertain local knowledge
about the species and its occurrence and distribution in the area. Interviewees were shown photographs of
both H. indica and Brandt’s Hedgehog Hemiechinus hypomelasto avoid any confusion between the two species, which are mistakenly called by
the same name in Arabic sometimes (Qunfoth or Qunfodh). We
asked whether they had seen H. indica in the
past, the nature of any sightings and whether they or others considered the
species to have any economic value or impact.
Results
The
first visual observation of H. indica in WWNP
was reported verbally by park staff (A. Cloke) in
April 2014, however, the sighting was not followed-up, and no action was
taken. Later in 2015 a photograph
of the species was captured (Image 1) at a permeantcamera trap monitoring location (Camera Trap_1) on 30 October 2015, 1.7km from
the first visual observation (Appendix.1). In the first sequence of captures, the porcupine was being followed by a
Red Fox (Image 1). Additional
images were captured at the same site on 5 November 2015, followed by another
photograph on 15 November 2016 at a second site (Camera Trap_2), 3.8km north of
the first location (Image 2). A
second visual sighting was made near the original observation location, almost
three years following the first sighting (28 March 2017) by a park ranger (S. Kakembo). All
sightings and photographs were made between 21:00 and 23:00 (Appendix 1).
Camera
Trap_1 was located within the core zone of WWNP on a mountain ridge facing a
disused graded road built in 2012 to maintain electrical pylons. The camera was 1.2km from farms in the
east and 150m from the wadi bed to the west. The camera was at an altitude of
200m. Vegetation cover was very low
in the surrounding area, consisting of some dispersed trees and woody
perennials. Camera Trap_2 was
located on a wadi terrace inside the buffer zone of
WWNP, at an altitude of 163m.
Monitoring at Camera Trap_1 was carried out from Jan 2015 until September 2016,
for a total effort of 594 trap-nights, over which time two separate H. indica events were recorded and 1,883 other capture
events. Camera Trap_2 was set from
June 2016 until March 2017, with a total effort of 295 trap-nights, one H. indica event was recorded, and 1,062 other capture
events. Other species recorded at
both sites included feral dogs, feral goats, red foxes and domestic sheep, as
well as humans engaged in collecting honey and poaching.
Social Survey
Interviews
were conducted during February 2017, and included 26 farmers and farm owners
from four villages to the east (Bidiya), north (Zikt) and west (Al Hala and Al Abadilah) of WWNP. Fifteen of the interviewees were local farm owners (UAE nationality),
and the rest were expatriate labourers on the farms. The interviews elicited eight visual
records of porcupine sightings, all occurring on the eastern side of WWNP
between Bidiya (East) and Wadi Zikt (north-east). All observations were either near farms
or near the roads leading to farms (Appendix 1).
Six
respondents reported seeing porcupines within the last 10 years and two of them
suggested that populations were larger 20–30 years ago, suggesting a
long-term presence of a porcupine population in the area. None of the respondents reported the pocupines as being a pest species, but one respondent
reported that their body parts were traditionally used for medicine. One local man who was born within WWNP
mentioned that porcupines were common near water pools decades ago, and added
that he had heard many stories about porcupines from his father while growing
up. Interestingly, there was two
sightings of a porcupine carcass near to farm areas to the east of WWNP
(Appendix 1).
Discussion
Reviews
of UAE mammals in the modern era have recognized 10 species of native and
naturalized Rodentia belonging to two families, Muridae (9 species), and Dipodidae(1 species) (Wilson & Reeder 1993). Two of these rodent species, Lesser Jerboa Jaculus jaculus and Egyptian Spiny Mouse Acomys dimidiatus, are
considered Near Threatened at the national level (Hornby 1996). Our discovery of Hystrix indica brings the total number of Rodentia in UAE to 11, and brings the list of mammal’s
residents in WWNP to 13 species.
Although
it is very difficult to distinguish African Crested Porcupine H. cristata from Indian Crested Porcupine H. indica based solely on our camera trap photographs,
biogeographic considerations make H. indica overwhelmingly
the most likely candidate for our sighting. The closest record of H. cristata is approximately 2,100 km away, in Eritrea,
whereas the closest previous record of H. indicawas approximately 600km south of our sighting, in the central desert of Oman
(Harrison & Bates 1991) . In
addition, the contiguous H. indica population
extends to the Arabian Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia (900km to the north-west),
and Iranian populations are even closer, only 120km away to the
north-east. The Iranian populations
are separated today from the UAE by the Strait of Hormuz, but the Strait and
the Arabian Gulf were dry lands as little as 18,000 years ago (Hellyer & Aspinall2005). Only a limited amount of
camera trapping and nocturnal exploration has yet been conducted elsewhere in
the foothills of the Hajar Mountains, making it
possible, perhaps even likely, that other areas of the HajarMountains, especially in the relatively “mesic” wadis of northernmost Oman, are also occupied by H. indica. Local knowledge should not be underestimated or ignored, social surveys
and questioners could contribute, lead research effort and identify hot spots
for other wildlife discoveries.
The use
of camera traps for research and conservation in the UAE have increased
gradually since the early 2000s, yielding interesting records of species such
as the rediscovery of the Arabian Sand Cat Felismargarita harrisoni in Abu Dhabi, UAE (Ahmed et
al. 2016). The current camera trap
monitoring network in WWNP has reduced human biases by using a systematic
random survey design, which is likely to have increased the probability of
discovering new species occupying the park, and we recommend this approach for
further biodiversity surveys in UAE and elsewhere.
Our
discovery and investigation emphasize the importance of preserving and
protecting marginal habitats associated with “core” protected areas. This ensures the preservation of
environments and resources that are complementary to those of the principal
protected environment. In the case
of WWNP, the buffer zone within the protected area comprises rugged foothill environments
that are transitional to extensive flat and agricultural lands outside the
park., both of which contribute towards diversifying food and habitat resources
for wildlife. Both H. indica and Vulpes vulpes arabica are
particularly suited to these peripheral environments, as their association with
anthropic habitats is well known (Hafeez et al. 2011;Kauhala et al. 2016). Wildlife using buffer areas used by
humans are, however, at more risk from human persecution. To help prevent loss of rare wildlife
residents in the WWNP buffer zone, we suggest actions including education and
additional protective legislation. Although H. indica is classified
globally as Least Concern by the IUCN, within the UAE, the population is likely
to be extremely small and could meet the criteria for Critically Endangered
classification at country level. Genetic study would be required to assess the population size and
resilience. Social surveys in the
villages surrounding WWNP have shown their worth in gaining and preserving
traditional knowledge. They may
also help in supporting education and awareness about wildlife in protected
areas. The interactions between
rangers and local people promote the exchange of traditional knowledge of
biodiversity and may also increase understanding of protected area goals and
help prevent wildlife conflicts.
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