Al Ain Zoo today announced its partnership with the WildGenes Laboratory, a genetic laboratory at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), to utilise the lab’s DNA expertise for a research project on the zoo’s captive Arabian Sand Cat population.

The partnership is part of Al Ain Zoo’s developing flagship conservation breeding and research programme for the Arabian Sand Cat. With 32 animals, Al Ain Zoo has the largest known captive population of Arabian Sand Cats in the world, however, little is understood about their genetics or the species in general.

Muna al Dhaheri, Acting Chief of Conservation and Education at Al Ain Zoo, commented:

“While Al Ain Zoo’s Arabian Sand Cat population serves as a platform to educate the public about related conservation efforts, it is our hope that this specific project will serve as a catalyst for conservation efforts in the region. This initiative will pave the way for the coordination with local and regional partners to develop a cohesive population management programme for the Arabian Sand Cat in the Arab world.”

Al Dhaheri further added:
“Al Ain Zoo’s partnership with Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s WildGenes Lab is in line with our continued and active commitment to conserve arid wildlife species, a key priority for the Abu Dhabi Emirate. The DNA analysis project will help us to better understand this elusive species, which will serve as a major contribution to conservation efforts, while also establishing a foundation for potential reintroduction and long-term sustainability.”
Dr. Helen Senn, Research Scientist at the RZSS WildGenes Laboratory, also commented:

“This is an important step in conserving the Arabian Sand Cat. Desert environments tend to be overlooked in terms of conservation work, and many species are extinct or on the brink of extinction. Although the Sand Cat is classed as Near Threatened, as a whole, the threat to local populations can be much greater. It is hoped that the establishment of this captive breeding programme and the information gathered from this study will help to improve the conservation prospects of this species.”

Elaborating further on the project, Dr. Senn said:

“The genetic work performed by RZSS WildGenes Lab will support the design of a breeding programme that will help maintain vital genetic diversity within the captive population, ensuring that it has the best chance of long-term survival if eventually reintroduced. Wild monitoring will also provide us with much needed background data about what this elusive species gets up to out in the desert”.

The RZSS WildGenes lab will use blood samples from the cats at Al Ain Zoo to extract their DNA and develop the genetic markers suitable for parentage testing and analysing genetic diversity. These tools will help establish a captive breeding programme, comparing the relatedness of the cats at Al Ain with those from other captive populations. The genetic tools being developed by WildGenes will also be used to monitor the UAE’s wild sand cat populations via the analysis of collected faecal samples, which will help experts to estimate the range and population size of the species in the wild.

The sand cat lives deep in the deserts of Arabia, North Africa and Central Asia, with the Arabian Sand Cat being a distinct population. It can survive for months without water and has thick fur on its paws to protect itself from the hot ground. The animal also makes burrows in the sand to cope with the extremes of midday and night-time temperatures, and is the only species of cat to truly inhabit the desert.

Degradation of the desert environment has led to the decline of many species, including the sand cat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species lists the cat as Near Threatened, however the threat to many local populations in Arabia is likely to be much higher. In fact, the Arabian Sand Cat is classified as Endangered in both the UAE’s and Abu Dhabi’s regional IUCN Red Lists, with only four reliable sightings in the Emirate since 1995. Due to the mysterious nature of this species, it is extremely challenging to estimate exactly how many individuals are left in the wild. Factors including overgrazing, habitat loss and accidental poisoning aimed at foxes and dogs mean that the wild population could be under threat.

RZSS WildGenes are also actively involved with work on a number of other desert species - the Addax, Scimitar-Horned Oryx and Dama Gazelle - for Al Ain Zoo. Recently the WildGenes Lab has taken the lead in the conservation genetic management of Arabian Oryx, which have been the subject of long-term conservation efforts and several reintroductions over the past 30 years. The use of DNA data to support the controlled release of these animals is hoped to eventually improve survival and longevity in the reintroduced population.

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