A rare fauna in the desert
In the desert areas, especially if you bivouac on the side of the inland sea south of Doha, you will be able, with a lot of luck, to see small mammals such as the Arabian hare, the Rüppell's fox, general Margueritte's cat (spahi in Laghouat), also known as the sand cat, the Ethiopian hedgehog called "desert lion", the gerbil, the daman, the trident bat and the desert bat. The golden jackal, a species thought to be extinct in the 1950s, has been rediscovered. Qatar has the highest density of camels in the Middle East. Among snakes, out of 57 species, we note the sand viper (Psammophis schokari), the pyramid viper and the carpet viper. Among the lizards, the most common reptile in Qatar, there are more than 21 species. The largest is the desert monitor (Varanus griseus) which can reach 1m in length! You can see blue-headed agamas, "sand shrinks" that bury themselves in the sand at the slightest vibration, geckos... As for arachnids, the hand-sized solifuge moves at 16 km/h following you under the sun, not to devour you but because it likes the shade. Birds can be seen on the coasts, especially in the Al Khor area: egrets, plovers, spoonbills, ibises, grebes, cormorant herons, ducks, spotted eagles, redshanks, mongoose sparrows. The desert is less prolific, but has a few varieties, such as the yellow-throated warbler, the desert sirli, the isabelle courvite, the white-fronted sparrow. The Arabian ostrich disappeared in 1945 but its North African cousin was introduced at the end of the 20th century and is now concentrated in Ras Abrouq.
The Arabian Oryx, a national emblem
The largest of the Arabian antelopes, Oryx leucoryx, is considered by the IUCN as an endangered species, placed on the red list. Once ubiquitous, the Arabian Oryx unfortunately no longer exists in the wild, but is kept in protected areas. Out of an estimated world population of 8,000, Qatar is home to over 1,300 in the sanctuaries of Shahaniyah, Ushaijrij and Mazhabyah. Its white fur, which protects it from the sun, is punctuated with darker, almost black areas on the legs, thorax, tail and several parts of the head. Males and females have long horns that can measure up to 90 cm long! Its body temperature can reach 45°C, while a sophisticated "refrigeration" system allows the blood to be cooled at the level of the horns, before it is fed to the most fragile organ, the brain. The kidneys of this antelope are capable of concentrating urine, whose consistency resembles that of honey! The Qatari authorities have made it a national emblem: its profile adorns the Qatar Airways jets and the French-speaking radio station in Doha bears its name. They can be approached, as part of an organized excursion, at the Al Maha center in As Shahaniyah
Whale sharks and dugongs
At sea, around the coral reefs of the coast, you can see a great number of fish (nearly 240 species), from the smallest to the biggest marlin, manta rays, turtles and even whale sharks. These last ones gravitate around the oil and gas platforms and it is therefore not possible to approach them to observe them, too bad! There are also many marine mammals, dolphins, whales, and especially 21 species of dugongs. If the species is largely threatened at the global level, Qatari waters are home to one of the largest concentrations of dugongs in the world, mainly on its northern coast. It sails in the waters between Zekreet and the Hawar Islands. The dugong has a tapered body, much more than the manatee, and a tail very close to that of a cetacean. Its grayish pigmentation is pronounced on its upper part and whitish on the ventral part. The dugong has a massive head, laterally compressed and provided with developed lips. The average size of adults is 3 meters, for a weight of 400 kg. The species feeds mainly on phanerogams (plankton). The behavior of the dugong is typically individualistic.
The date palm, source of life
From its Latin name, Phoenix dactylifera, the date palm is inseparable from arid regions. For decades, it has contributed to the diet of the desert people, but also to multiple practical uses: its wood was used to build boats, while its leaves were transformed into baskets, mattresses, toys, and were also used to build houses. Nowadays, date palm production is a real industry and its fruit is one of the only Qatari agricultural products exported: with 3 million tons, Qatar is the 20th largest producer worldwide. The date, much better eaten fresh and soft (tamar) than dried, is also known for its nutritional virtues, rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals (3 000 kilocalories per kilo). Quite undemanding, the date palm supports all types of soil (even sandy and salty). However, it takes several years to produce fruit and requires manual pollination. Moreover, it needs minimal but regular watering to flourish
The Sidr: the thorns of Christ
From the Qatar Foundation's logo to the Qatari landscape to the sumptuous exterior design of the National Convention Centre, the Sidr is a desert tree that is the national tree. A symbol of vitality, otherwise known as the Christ thorn, it produces fruit and flowers in the most extreme climatic conditions. Tree of poets, who took refuge under its foliage to enjoy its freshness, it owes its robustness and fertility to its deep roots. Known since time immemorial, used in Pharaonic Egypt, mentioned in the Book of the three great monotheistic religions, the Ziziphus spina christi is the jujube tree that would have provided the thorns of the crown of Christ. Considered as a deciduous shrub, it has an erect habit, with a slender zigzag branching, provided with sharp spines.
