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Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre and other EPAA Conservation projects on the East Coast
About this event
Speaker Biography – Christian Wilson – Operations Manager of the Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre in Kalba -Professional Gamekeeper, FGASA Field Guide and Conservationist
Opened in 2016, the Conservation Centre is a 12 km2 (4.6 sq mi) wildlife sanctuary and visitor centre, with some 30 animals preserved at the centre, including Arabian leopards, which are thought to now be extinct 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, won the Middle East Architect educational project of the year award.
The centre comprises a number of landscape enclosures in which mountain fauna are housed in their natural environment.
Outdoor animals include Arabian leopard, rock hyrax, gazelle, caracal, Arabian tahr, Arabian wolf, and striped hyena. 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
Smaller species are housed indoors at the centre and include snakes, lizards and hedgehogs.