Three Arabian wolf pups new 
additions to Sharjah Desert Park

“Earlier this year, another Arabian wolf bred six pups. We now have nine young pups added to more than 40 older wolves at the Breeding Centre for Endangered Arabian Wildlife,” said Hana Al Suwaidi, Director of the Environment and Protected Areas Authority – Sharjah. “The older pups are now a few months old and are coming out of their den while the younger pups born on April 9 are 38 days old.”

A female wolf breeds one to four pups by the end of winter or the beginning of spring. “Mostly, the pregnant wolf takes shelter in a den after delivery to protect her young pups. She remains hidden in the den until her pups become two months old,” Al Suwaidi said.

The Arabian wolf stands at around 26 inches shoulder height and weighs an average of 40 pounds.

Suwaidi said pure Arabian wolf species are quite different from wolf-dog hybrid, known as wolf hybrid or wolfdog which results from the mating of a wolf and a dog. “Pure Arabian wolves are known for their yellow-coloured eyes while the hybrid wolfdogs have brown eyes.”

The Arabian wolf mostly lives in gravel and coastal plains and mountain ous regions. Now it can only be found in selected pockets of Oman, Yemen, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

“The UAE desert itself has experienced local extinctions of species 
that once roamed wild and free across its arid wilderness. Among these is 
the Arabian wolf, which hasn’t been seen in the wild in this country since the 1980’s for lacking suitable environment,” she said.

ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.ae