A vast area greater than the size of Wales is being rewilded in north-west Saudi Arabia, and desert-adapted species such as the Arabian oryx, Persian onagars or wild asses and sand and mountain gazelles have been reintroduced to its nearly 25,000km2.
Now a 14th species, the Arabian hare, a subspecies of the Cape hare, has joined their ranks in Prince Mohammed bin Salman Royal Reserve.
According to the reserve’s CEO Andrew Zaloumis, the hares will play a key role in the food chain, “influencing ecosystem processes both up and down the trophic pyramid.”
“By bringing back the Arabian hare, which is prey for jackals, foxes, wildcats and hyenas, we strengthen the connections that allow desert life to recover and flourish,” he says.
But they are not just prey animals – as herbivores, they graze and disperse seeds and their dung returns organic matter to the arid desert environment, helping plant communities to spread.
Like much of Saudi Arabia’s wildlife, hares suffered population declines in the latter part of the 20th century because of widespread hunting.
But in other parts of the country, scientists have shown the species can flourish. For example, a camera-trap survey in Uruq Bani Ma’arid Protected Area in the south of Saudi Arabia in 2019 found that hares were the most frequently encountered species. The results showed that the hares were “predominantly nocturnal, and completely so in the hot season.”
In the current project, 20 hares selected for their genetic diversity have been brought to the reserve but are remaining in purpose-built enclosures so numbers can be maximised through captive breeding before any individuals are fully released. The first leveret has already been born.
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Arabian hares are finely adapted for life in the harsh environment of the Arabian Peninsula. Their long ears – which at 17cm long are nearly one third of their overall body length – not only provide them with acute hearing but act as cooling systems by radiating heat. They are one of the few mammals that can withstand extreme temperatures without having to burrow. When threatened, they can reach speeds of up to 80kmh – that's almost twice as fast as Usain Bolt's top speed (44.72kmh).
Though recovering in the Arabian Peninsula, Cape hares are also found in large parts of Africa, including Southern Africa and in and around the Sahara Desert, as well as in countries further east such as Iran.
Top image: Arabian hare. Credit: David Chancellor
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