Sir Bani Yas Island Nature Reserve, United Arab Emirates

 Sir Bani Yas is a 30 square mile  island located 150 miles southwest of Abu Dhabi, and is part of the UAE.  It is named after the Sir Bani Yas tribe which had settled Abu Dhabi in 1793, and from whom the present rulers are descendants. 

A type of oryx


Oryx grazing on irrigated grassland.

 It was sparsely inhabited, and foundations of an early Christian monastery  that existed here  from 600-800 AD have been discovered. There were a few fishermen and pearl divers, but the island was abandoned by 1940 when water reserves dried up. 


Our view from the ship deck. Not much here but a very long pier, some beach chairs, and lots of animals on a very dry flat island!

It became a private Royal Nature Reserve in 1971 when  the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayan began the wildlife conservation program here. He began by bringing a few endangered Arabian oryx, and gradually increased the number of species. There are now over 30 species and over 15,000  birds and animals, There is now a formal a conservation and development program .When endangered species have become established on the island some are reintroduced again to the mainland.  The animals include giraffe, cheetah, gazelles, ostrich, llama, striped hyenas, and now a large herd of the Arabian oryx.

Ostrich

Gazelles


Those leaves must really be worth the effort!

Oryx wandering freely. Without irrigation the entire landscape is barren desert. Every tree has a dripline.

Oryx

The island functioned as a private reserve for the Sheikh and his family until 2008, when it became open to the public.  There are now three Anantara  resorts on the island, one of which used to be the private guest house for the Sheikh. Further development is prohibited to maintain the wildlife sanctuary character. 

Fresh water is brought to the island by tanker and stored in giant storage tanks. Irrigation lines are seen everywhere to grow all of the visible plants and trees.

A herd of African sheep. Notice the drip line underfoot in the foreground.

 The only tree growing in the brackish marshes are the mangrove trees that tolerate salt water.

Flamingoes in the mangrove marsh.




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