Release of flamingos and cormorants

Dubai:

In a bid to protect natural wildlife from ongoing development projects that affect the country’s environment, the municipality yesterday released 16 Greater Flamingos and 50 Socotra Ccrmorants into Dubai Creek Park.

“We started breeding them in 2006 and it was a challenge because we had a small zoo, but through our techniques, the birds became familiar with the environment and we were able to overcome the difficulty of breeding them in captivity,” said Ahmad Abdul Kareem, head of Public Parks and Horticulture at Dubai Municipality. He confirmed that large-scale development projects ultimately have a negative effect on wildlife and its surrounding environment, and that the coast of Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al Quwain are the areas most affected.

“This is an important milestone because we are the first zoo in the world to breed the cormorants in captivity,” explained Abdul Kareem, noting that 72 more cormorants and 31 Greater Flamingos are still in captivity at Dubai Zoo.

Once the birds were released into the Creek, officials say they expect them to adjust to their new environment within one week and expect them to go to the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary with the others.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List records the Socotra Cormorant as a vulnerable species and has classified the Greater Flamingo as a Least concern species, which means that it is not endangered.

Each of the birds have been tagged with a plastic ring that is equipped with a serial number, as well as the address and contact details of a zoo specialist, in case the birds are found in an injured condition or dead.

This is not the first time however, that Dubai Municipality and Dubai Zoo have released zoo-bred local animals back to nature, as they have relocated animals gifted to the zoo in addition to animals that have been confiscated by law enforcers.

Dr Reza Khan, specialist and wildlife zoo expert at Dubai Municipality, explained that there are 1,500 Greater Flamingos permanently living at the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, while up to 2,000 migrate there during the winter months.

“The name Socotra Cormant originated from an island belonging to Yemen and while 10 per cent of the regional population live on the island and the coast of Oman, 90 per cent live in the Arabian Gulf,” he added.