13 May 2021

Arabian Wolf Tracks – Harrat Al Harrah

Whilst birding the Harrat Al Harrah area in January 2021 I came across many signs of Arabian Wolf Canis lupus arabs although I did not see any living individuals. The rangers told me Arabian wolves are distributed throughout the reserve, with den sites, shelters and sign on all major jabals. They also said animals range widely, and the tracks I saw suggest this is the case as footprints were found in many different areas with soft substrates. The Arabian Wolf is a subspecies of Grey Wolf which lives on the Arabian Peninsula, the Negev Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and Jordan. It is the smallest wolf subspecies, and a desert-adapted subspecies that normally lives in small groups. It is omnivorous, eating carrion and garbage, as well as small to medium-sized prey. The Arabian subspecies of the Grey Wolf is widely distributed in the Arabian Peninsula from sea level to more than 2000 m of elevation, encompassing a diversity habitat types that include deserts to scrublands.