Oman’s environment is one of the most diverse in the region and recognising this diversity had led not only the government but environmentalists as well to ensure that enough attention is given to it as well as protection requirements are met.
These environments include many endangered wild animals such as the Arabian gazelle found in the Governorate of Dhofar, especially in the area between the wilayat of Sadah and Mirbat.
To ensure that environmental laws are implemented, the government needs the support of everyone and it is on this very plate of doing societal responsibility that Sheikh Saeed Al Shahri has stepped up to the plate.
Al Shahri, in his capacity, has been extending support to Oman’s endangered deers by opening his home to become a sanctuary and nursing site. This started about 8 years ago when he found a young deer alone and scared after its mother was killed in its home forest in Wadi Shillion in the Wilayat of Sadah.
Unable to leave the young deer unprotected, he took care of it and brought it home and from that one incident, he ended up caring for other orphans. Today, he is taking care of a herd of gazelles.
Al Shahri said, “We found a young deer in a deteriorating health condition after its mother was preyed upon during the birth process. We treated it and took care of it. We informed the wildlife monitors in the wilayat and asked the Environmental Directorate in Dhofar to take care of it and after two years we also found another young deer. We raised them until they began to reproduce.”
He added that what he is doing is humanitarian work, and it is a collaborative effort with the government in preserving the Omani environment with all its components.
For the endangered species of Oman to thrive, the best way to protect them is calling upon the locals and make them a partner not only in protecting the environment but also the wildlife that lives on it.
Al Shahri is one perfect example of the success that this collaborative effort can do and if more of this practise is made, there will more people standing up for the environment.
The deer breeding project where Al Shahri has become a part of is a “national project” and efforts must be combined to preserve it.
Al Shahri explained that he will work hard to help the deers multiply until they reach the largest possible number. It is his hope that once they grew in number, that they can be successfully reintegrated into the wild and will be led back to their original environment.
Al Shahri said that joining the gonverment’s effort in preserving certain types of animals will have lasting impact not only in his lifetime but for the future generation.
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