The Al Saleel Reserve is located in the Wilayat of Al Kamil W’al Wafi in the Governorate of South Al Sharqiyah, and it is one of the beautiful natural reserve that covers a large area.
The reserve is located in the arid and semi-arid regions. It receives less rainfall all throughout the year but is consist of a wide muddy and gravel plain extending from the east.
This environment provides an important natural space for the Sumr trees which resulted in an important forest that provides a natural environment and habitat for different types of creatures, especially the Arabian deer scattered along the reserve.
The reserve is also characterised by the spread of more than 100 species of plants and trees distributed throughout the reserve. Some plants that can be found here include sidr trees, couches, al-shu’a and al-sarah. There are also more than eight types of mammals living here such as the Arabian deer, the Arabian ibex, the red fox and the wild rabbit.
As for reptiles, the reserve is home to eight types of reptiles which include the Egyptian lizard. Around 166 species of insects also call this home. The reserve also created a safe haven for wild birds, as three types of wild birds were recorded here. Most notably of birds that thrive in this area include the bulbul, the hoopoe, the wild pigeon, the cordoned pigeon, the Arab babbler, sparrows, the great grey shrike, the catbirds, and also the yellowish, as well as the Egyptian eagle, the bald eagle and the steppe eagle.
With regard to human heritage, it has been discovered that there are archaeological tombs on the northeastern side of the reserve that were dated to be up to three thousand years BC. Their spread confirms the existence of ancient settlements that inhabited the area or neighbouring areas because the reserve was in the past a corridor for commercial caravans coming from the east towards the interior of Oman.
The reserve and its surroundings are currently inhabited by a community, most of which are Bedouins, who depend on grazing. The vast area of the reserve and the diversity of plants have made it easy for their cattle.
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