Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 107, November 2013, pp. 1-29. | Page 4

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Wolves still occur, as far as is known, in all the countries of the Middle East, but are generally rare, and their distribution is not continuous. They have been eliminated from areas with dense human population. Apparently, Occupied Palestine is the only country in this region where wolves are legally protected. Some countries, such as Jordan, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, have in recent years introduced some restrictions on hunting. It seems that in Jordan and in Oman these regulations are quite well obeyed, but predators are apparently not included in this protection (Mendelssohn, 1983). Nowadays, Wildlife Protection laws is found in all Arabian countries to protect the Flora and Fauna (including predators). But such protection of predators would not be acceptable to the public as predators are, except in Palestine, considered generally as pests and killed on sight. Only smaller species, such as jackals and foxes, are not endangered. All the larger species that still exist, such as hyenas (Hyaena hyaena), leopards (Panthera pardus) and wolves, must be considered as endangered (Mendelssohn 1983, Khalaf-von Jaffa 1990).

The Arabian Wolf (Canis lupus arabs) at the Arabia’s Wildlife Centre in Sharjah, UAE. 28.01.2013. Photo by: Prof. Dr. Norman Ali Bassam Khalaf-von Jaffa. Prof. Dr. Mendelssohn (1983) wrote: "In most countries of the Middle East, wolves feed mostly on livestock carcasses or have to prey on domestic animals, as wild ungulates have been exterminated or are, besides wild pigs (Sus scrofa), so rare that they cannot present a food base for wolves. Even in Turkey, where seven species of ruminants were regionally not rare 30 years ago, they are now so rare in most areas, or have been completely exterminated, that wolves cannot rely on them. Wild pigs occur in the northern and more humid areas of this region and are regionally common, but it is not known if wolves prey on this
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 107 – November 2013