Salalah: The Office for Conservation of Environment (OCE) at the Diwan of Royal Court, represented by the Department of Environmental Affairs in Salalah, has recorded the first documentation of the Dhafari shrew animal (Crocidura dhofarensis) in Jabal Samhan in the Governorate of Dhofar, where the recording is the first of its kind outside the Khareef region.
Dr Hadi bin Muslim al Hakmani, a researcher specializing in wild mammals and Director of the Department of Environmental Affairs in Salalah, said that this type of small mammal was previously recorded in only four sites in the Governorate of Dhofar, all of which are in the area affected by the autumn season, noting that there are three types of shrews in the governorate.
He stressed that small mammals such as hedgehogs, rodents and shrews are among the important species for biodiversity, in addition to being natural prey for a number of predators, especially the Arab leopard, which is one of the rare species, and therefore attention should be paid to studying these species and preserving them from extinction. –ONA
