Oman, 2024

August- November 2014

After seven years of living in Thailand it was time for a new adventure, and as fortune had it I gained employment at the best international school in Oman. As well as a career progression, this move would allow me to experience a completely different environment compared to Thailand, swapping rainforest for deserts and dry wadis. Although, I wouldn’t be abandoning the humidity entirely, with the famous ‘Khareef’ monsoon affected areas of southern Oman where the climate is surprisingly similar to that of South-East Asia creating one of the most unique habitats for wildlife that I have ever experienced.

I moved to the Sultanate of Oman in August with virtually no time to get familiarised with the country before starting work. Therefore, I had to rely on weekends or Oman’s very generous bank holidays to get out and about to explore for wildlife. So far my adventures in Oman can be divided into three categories; Muscat and surrounding areas, the Jebel Akhdar mountains and Dhofar in the south of the country.

Muscat environs and coastal lowlands

The capital and areas close to my home on the coast offer abundant opportunities to observe herpetofauna, and it didn’t take long to discover a number of species. Muscat is a very ideal city in this regard, small enough than you are never more than 10-15 minutes from the coast or the mountains. In August inland temperatures were over 45c so I often stuck to the coast where things were more manageable. At two sandy areas directly behind the beach I regularly found Sindh saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus), a small viper which seems to be very abundant in modified habitats in and around the city. During most nocturnal visits I always saw at least 2-4 individuals without too much effort. Other reptiles which shared this habitat were the Eastern sand gecko (Stenodactylus leptocosymbotes), Baluch ground gecko (Bunopus tuberculatus) and Blanford’s fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus blanfordii). On one occasion I also observed a large Arabian sand boa (Eryx jayakari). A little further inland, one of the few sand dune systems which isn’t overrun with boys racing their toys (4×4 vehicles), these sand boas were a bit more common. As the daytime temperatures are still too hot, I will wait another month or so before attempting to find more of the diurnal species occurring in these areas.

Heading inland to the lower Hajar mountains, the lizard diversity increased considerably with numerous gecko species such as the Hajar mountain gecko (Hemidactylus hajarensis), Hajar banded gecko (Trachydactylus hajarensis), Orlov’s fan-footed gecko (Ptyofactylus orlovi), Arnold’s leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus arnoldi) and at more coastal mountains and hillsides the Rock semaphore gecko (Pristurus rupestris). In particular, the large Orlov’s fan-footed geckos seem abundant in every wadi where I searched, especially those with water. During the daytime the occasional Hajar rock agama (Pseudotrapelus jensvindumi) was observed, but so far never with their characteristic blue heads.

Water is life

Out of all of the places that I have visited, the phrase ‘Water is life’ has never been as relevant as in this area. Indeed, every snake I have observed so far in the lowland mountains and their wadis have been in or close to water. Irrigation canals (known locally as falaj) are a magnet for several species, equally so are small pools of water which persist after very scarce rainfall. Both amphibians present in the country are omnipresent wherever these small water sources exist, providing ample prey for many other species. Of the two species, the Arabian toad (Phrynocephalus arabicus) seems a little more common and widespread inland compared to the Dhofar toad (Firouzophrynus dhufarensis) which so far has been more frequently observed in wadis close to the coast. So onto the animals which hunt these abundant amphibians. Focusing on searches at these water sources provided numerous observations of Wadi racers (Platyceps rhodorachis) which seem to be almost entirely aquatic where water is available and there are several different colour variations of this snake. After dark, the large Oman saw-scaled viper (Echis omanensis) was observed several times waiting in ambush next to the water or moving around nearby boulders. These vipers varied in colour a bit more than their coastal counterparts, and were considerably larger than then Sindh saw-scaled viper.

Jebel Al Akhdar mountain

Only a two hour drive from my home and I can be above 2,000 metres and enjoying a much cooler climate than in the lowlands. The Jebel Al Akhdar mountain has two plateaus up to and above 2,000 metres which are ideal bases for exploring the surrounding areas. I first visited this area at the end of September and the temperatures were considerably different, with an average high of 24c, dropping to 16c at night. Much to my surprise, despite these cooler nights there was a lot of reptile activity. During one night we observed 5 Oman saw-scaled viper and a lifer Arabian cat snake (Telescopus dhara) in a wadi which was at 2,100 metres. The lizard fauna also changed a bit at this altitude. The abundant wadi dwellers in these cooler areas were a trio of day geckos; Bar-tailed semaphore gecko (Pristurus celerrimus), Gallagher’s semaphore gecko (Pristurus gallagheri) and the much less common Rock semaphore gecko (Pristurus rupestris). The Bar-tailed being by far the most abundant of these geckos. In addition, I had single observations of the locally uncommon duo of the Hajar blue-tailed lizard (Omanosaura cyanura) and the Jayakar’s lizard (Omanosaura jayakari). By night, the diurnal lizards were replaced by the large Luque’s gecko ( Hemidactylus luqueorum) and the Mountain leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus montanus). The flat-headed leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus platyrhynchus) was also observed.

Only having two nights in this area I was not able to find the much desired Persian horned viper (Pseudocerastes persicus) but I’ll be back again for that one!

Dhofar

I had to wait until the end of October before I could visit the area that I was most excited about: Dhofar. Equally excited about the prospect of visiting this area was mammal maestro Paul Carter, and after discussions while I was still living in Phuket, Paul suggested a shared trip for one week. Once we arrived in situ at our lovely guesthouse, Paul, Chi, Kat and myself arranged a schedule of such for the following seven days. Mammals were at the top of the menu, with species which are usually next to impossible in most of Arabia such as Caracal, Striped hyena, Arabian wolf, Rock hyrax, and Honey badgers all sounding possible. That being said, I was still hopeful that some snakes would cross our paths with some dedicated searches, not to mention some much desired lizards.

Not wasting any time, we set out to a nearby small wadi immediately after arriving in the evening. It didn’t take long for the first Arabian chameleon (Chamaeleo arabicus) to be observed sleeping in a bush. In total we saw about 15 of these amazing lizards, mostly sleeping at night but also observed crossing the road during the daytime. At the well-watered hillsides which were still relatively green we observed two sleeping Arabian cat snakes inside a small limestone rock formation and numerous skins in the surroundings. The first Anderson’s burrowing asp (Atractaspis andersonii) was observed nearby, such an unusual species which is challenging to work with. It’s defensive behaviour very much reminding me of kraits and coral snakes in Thailand. I went on to see two more of these bizarre snakes, one hunting in a wadi at dusk and another in a super dry coastal habitat. The tiny Nurse’s blind snake (Myriopholis nursii) was another snake lifer from the khareef affected hillsides. One evening as I drove on a busy road, the car in front clipped a snake that had just moved onto the road. This turn out to be a much desired Arabian cobra (Naja arabica) was sadly died soon afterwards. This was my only observation of this snake during this trip. By day, the familiar Oriental garden lizard (Calotes versicolor) was occasionally seen, as well as infrequent sightings of Short-necked skink (Trachylepis brevicollis) and Tessellated skink (Trachylepis tessellata). One day when we ventured into the mountains to higher altitudes we watched several Anderson’s rock agamas (Acanthocerus adramitanus) hunting the steep cliffs in the company or Rock hyrax (Procavia capensis).

Heading a little further east, one coastal area produced good numbers of Bent’s spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx benti) as well as several Dhofar rock agamas (Pseudotrapelus dhofarensis) this time with blue heads! The occasional Carter’s semaphore gecko (Pristurus carteri) and South-Arabian fringe-toed lizard (Acanthodactylus felicis) were also seen. After finding one of my main targets dead on the road close to waterfall, I was delighted to finally observe a living Khosatzki’s saw-scaled viper (Echis khosatzkii) on the last night of the trip in a dry coastal habitat. Soon afterwards a sleeping Schokari sand racer (Psammophis schokari) was found in a spiky bush. A skin of a large Arabian cobra was also seen close to the seashore but no sign of the snake itself. I had been warned that finding snakes in Dhofar was tough, and this turned out to be kind of true.

Fortunately, the mammals and owls made up for the lack of snakes. Most nights we were treated to observations of Arabian wolves, Honey badgers, numerous Arabian eagle owls, Genets, Spiny mouse and lots of Red foxes. But on one night in particular I had one of my best mammal encounters to date. Recount from my Facebook/Instagram post:

“Well after midnight an Arabian wolf (Canis lupus arabs) had just walked across the road and then disappeared quickly into the night. Photo as a comment of this guy as he briefly turned to check on me. This was typical of the all the wolves that we saw, off like a shot at the slightest hint of disturbance. However, I then noticed a pair of eyes watching me from the opposite side of the road to where the wolf had disappeared. But this time the animal slowly turned around and walked away. I got out of the car and followed. The mystery animal then stopped again, turned around and watched me a second time. Not wolf behaviour, and then I realised that I was actually looking at a striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena)! Trying to compose myself to get a photo, the hyena was now less than 10 metres away from me and while my camera initially wouldn’t cooperate (focus you bastard!), it eventually locked on and I got several shots. Thankfully I was using my Canon R6 II, had I been using the R7 it probably wouldn’t have focused and I would have missed the moment. Anyway, the hyena watched me for about 30 seconds and then decided to continue walking away at which point I lost sight of this rare predator. A truly memorable encounter that I hope I can repeat the next time I am in this fascinating area.“

I’ll be back in Dhofar in December for more, and I can’t wait!