The southwest Arabian endemic area ecoregion, together with the Tihamah plain, is home to the majority
of southwest Arabian endemic bird species. The montane juniper woodlands are
vital habitat for these birds, such as the Yemen Linet Carduelis yemenensis, Yemen Thrush Turdus menachensis and Yemen Warbler Parisoma buryi. These species are dependent on juniper berries as a
food source and also use the juniper trees for nesting. The dramatic cliff
faces on the escarpment rim are home to large raptors such as the Griffon
Vulture Gyps fulvus and the Verreaux
Eagle Aquila verreauxii and the small
Barbary Falcon Falco pelegrinoides.
As the Arabian Peninsula forms a bridge between the African and Eurasian
continents, the Asir Mountains and the western highlands of Yemen provide an
important resting spot for migrating birds. The high escarpment and cliffs are
especially important to migrating raptors in autumn. Wadi Turabah in Saudi
Arabia is the last place in the Arabian Peninsula where the Hammerkop Scopus umbretta can be found nesting,
and the isolated and distinctive endemic race Pica pica asirensis is pressent on Shalla ad-Dhana, near Tanoumah. Large
mammals inhabit these highlands. The Asir escarpment is known to be one of the
last strongholds in Saudi Arabia of the Arabian Leopard Panthera pardus nimr, thought to number around 50 individuals. Hamadryas
Baboon Papio hamadryas is expanding
and has become common around cities such as Abha and Taif. The Caracal Caracal caracal schmitzi is still
relatively widespread, Arabian Wolf Canis
lupus arabs is now extremely rare and in danger of extinction through
persecution and hybridization with feral dogs, Rock Hyrax Procavia capensis jayakari is still fairly common in areas around
Taif, but its distribution range is fast decreasing and the Striped Hyaena Hyaena hyaena is also a resident of this
area. In Saudi Arabia the Ministry of Agriculture and Water created the Asir
National Park (4,150 km2) in 1981. In this park and its surrounding areas,
there have been 34 mammal species, 245 bird species, 41 reptile species and 7
amphibian species recorded. The Saudi National Commission for Wildlife
Conservation and Development (NCWCD), established in 1986, is the main body
responsible for nature conservation and protected area management. The NCWCD
has a comprehensive system plan for protected areas with one existing protected
area, the Raydah Reserve (approximately 9 km2) one of the prime areas of intact
juniper forest in this ecoregion. Poor regeneration among the juniper forests
is causing concern among environmentalists. One cause may be infestation of
cones by a tortricide moth with another possible cause the lack of seedling
survival caused by human disturbance, grazing pressure or climatic change. This
information is taken from the World Wide Fund for Nature data.
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| Arabian Leopard |
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| Hamadryas Baboon - male |
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| Stripped Hyaena |