Muscat: The Environment Authority (EA) has said that there have been increasing incidents of running over wild animals at Ras al Shajar Reserver in Quriyat.
According to statistics reported exclusively by Oman Arabic Daily, 292 wild animals died during the period 2018-2023 and there is an urgent need for effective solutions.
The Arabian Gazelle is the most frequently runover wild animal and this year witnessed around 52 run-over cases so far.
Zahran bin Ahmed Al Abdul Salam, Acting Director General of the Environmental Conservation Office, said, "Incidents of running over wild animals in the Ras Al Shajar Nature Reserve in particular and the rest of the areas in the Sultanate of Oman in general constitute a challenge. Cases of running over wild and domestic animals occur on highways and byways, and we work at EA have been studying this phenomenon for more than three years."
EA said it has raised the issue of providing safe crossings for these wild animals with the Ministry of Transport and Communications and Information Technology (MTCIT) and the Royal Oman Police (ROP) on all roads
in the Sultanate of Oman.
Zahran also stressed the lack of commitment by vehicle drivers on highways to the speed limit, especially on the Quriyat-Sur road.
She pointed out that the reserve is an open reserve and is crossed by the Qurayyat-Tyre road.
The reserve faces many challenges that lie in competition for pasture, climate change, habitat division, and poaching, in addition to accidents of running over wild animals, with an average of (58) run-over cases recorded.
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