Wildlife of Qatar

The country's terrestrial wildlife includes numerous small nocturnal mammals, a number of reptiles which mainly consist of lizard species, and arthropods.

The desert and the shoreline form an important resting site for migratory bird species during autumn and spring.

[11] The desert and the shoreline form an important resting site for a number of migratory bird species during autumn and spring.

Coastal birds include gulls, terns, turnstones, sanderlings, Kentish plovers, herons and Socotra cormorants.

[12] More commonly occurring species during the autumn and spring are swallows, swifts, house martins, warblers, redstarts, shrikes, wheatears, wagtails, harriers and falcons (including kestrels).

[18] Goatfish, sharks, groupers, barracudas, threadfins, lizardfish and rabbitfish also occur in lower frequency.

[21] Mudflats and other intertidal habitats tend to contain the highest distribution of gastropods, polychaetes, bivalves and decapods.

These include Thysanura, Ephemeroptera, Odonata, Orthoptera, Dermaptera, Embioptera, Isoptera, Dictyoptera, Anoplura, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera and Hymenoptera.

[25] Shallow depressions referred to as rodat constitute a more varied selection of plants since rainwater run off is more easily accumulated.

[25] Qatar is committed to protecting endangered wildlife species, as highlighted by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME).

One of the key initiatives includes the protection of hawksbill turtles, which are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

[26] The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change has undertaken various programs and projects to preserve wildlife and biodiversity.