Shawmarī Wildlife Reserve

We visited 2 small nature reserves in eastern Jordan. Both are dedication to rehabilitation projects, but their foci are very different
The 1st is the Shumari Wildlife Refuge. The primary goal here is the breeding and reintroduction of the Arabian oryx, a native species that was hunted to extinction as recently as the middle of the 20th century. The 1st 2 pictures are taken here. The 1st is the oryx, and the 2nd is a quick glance at the vegetation here.
The 2nd refuge is the Azraq Wetland Reserve. This was an important oasis for travelers and for wildlife, especially migrating birds. However, it is being drained by over pumping. They say that about 25% of the water used in Amman (a city if some 4 million) comes from here.
The 3rd picture looks at a spot that's more or less what the oasis ought to look like. The 4th picture looks at some of the vegetation where the water has dried up. The 5th picture looks over an area that not too many years ago had standing water at least a meter deep. The last picture looks over some open water that is part if the project to restore the wetland.Read more