Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary, , Dubai

Dubai

Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...

, United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...

, is a wetland

Wetland

A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....

 reserve

Game reserve

A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....

 renowned for attracting migratory

Bird migration

Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...

 birds in large numbers. The wetlands have large numbers of birds, crustaceans, small mammals and fish

Fish

Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

.

Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary represents an enclave of relative wilderness amidst swirling traffic and sprawling urban infrastructure. Located just as the name in Arabic suggests - at the Cape of the Creek, it is among the few urban protected areas of the world.

The Dubai Municipality

Dubai Municipality

Dubai Municipality is the municipal body with jurisdiction over city services and the upkeep of facilities in the Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was established in 1954 by the then crown prince of Dubai, Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum...

 has taken great efforts to protect and preserve the biodiversity of this delicate ecosystem. The wetland has been fenced off from the public and three birding hides have been built. The bird hides are a first step towards development of more elaborate visitor education facilities in the protected area. WWF UAE Project Office collaborated with Dubai Municipality's Environment Department, in setting up the facilities that were sponsored by the National Bank of Dubai.

Opportunities for experiencing a natural environment in this rapidly building-up emirate are so limited that the opening of Ras Al Khor to visitors is a boon to present and potential nature lovers.

Presently there are three birding hides located on the perimeter of the sanctuary open to the public. Entrance is free and operate from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Saturday to Thursday.

Ras Al Khor is also home to about 500 Greater Flamingo

Greater Flamingo

The Greater Flamingo is the most widespread species of the flamingo family. It is found in parts of Africa, southern Asia , and southern Europe...

es (Phoenicopterus roseus), which has become something of a mascot for Dubai's Wild Life protection program.