Indian crested porcupine spotted in Fujairah

Municipality confirms first photographic evidence near Wadi Wurayah park

The first confirmed sighting of the Indian crested porcupine, the largest rodent in Arabia, was made in the UAE at the Wadi Wurayah National Park.

The Fujairah Municipality yesterday confirmed the first photographic evidence of the Indian porcupine (Hystrix indica) taken near farms on the eastern side of the Wadi Wurayah National Park. The porcupine was spotted approximately 600km beyond its known range in the central desert of Oman.

The first images of the nocturnal animal showed it being followed by an Arabian red fox. They were captured in October 2015 by a camera trap set by a municipality team at the park. Additional images were captured a month later.

Mohammad Saif Al Afkham, director-general of Fujairah Municipality, said the discovery brings the total number of recorded native and naturalised rodent species in the UAE from 10 to 11.

Dr Ali Hassan Al Hammoudi, park manager at the park, said though the first images were taken three years ago, the team had to conduct a two-year research to confirm the finding and have it published in the scientific Journal of Threatened Taxa last June.

Dr Reza Khan, principal wildlife specialist at Dubai Safari, lauded the team’s finding, saying it’s a “very good addition” to the country’s fauna. Currently, around 100 camera traps are maintained by park rangers at the park that spans 222 square km.