Wild mammals in Al-Lajat nature reserve, southern Syria

Abstract

The research examines the biodiversity study of wild mammals in the Al-Lajat reserve in southern Syria, which was adopted by UNESCO as a human and biosphere reserve, as one of the global network of this type of reserves, to protect its components from environmental degradation.

The study was carried out between June 2009 and July 2010, based on interviews to local people, protected guards and hunters in nearby villages and comparative analyses of previous studies, and based on field work in 2010 using traps, species monitoring by direct observation, or tracking their effects.

The field study recorded the spread of 12 species of wild mammals, including: Nine of these species are documented for the first time in the Area of El Jaa, five of which are widespread in Syria, and four species of rodents of limited spread: Apodemus mystacinus, Gerbillus dasyurus, Meriones tristrami and Hystrix indica. In addition, nine other species have been recorded through interviews with local residents and guards, but they need to be confirmed in future studies.

The current study showed the environment of these species, and their status according to the IUCN Red List, which showed that 9 species of them are among the least endangered species (LC), across the Mediterranean basin, and one vulnerable species (VU) is the planned hyena. The most important threats to wild mammals in the reserve are the destruction of their habitats due to deforestation and degradation of plants as a result of human activity, hunting and overexploitation of some species for various purposes.