Wildlife

This terrapin is not the local species. The red/orange flash on the side of the face indicates an American origin. Unfortunately pet terrapins are dumped into the steams and ditches when expats leave the island or children loose interest in them. This one is a Red-eared Slider -Trachemys scripta elegans
Brendan

Our photo

I borrowed this from the Internet for comparison.More information about Turtles and terapins can be had at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/

Sand Skink Scincus mitranus seen at Buri - nice to find one close enough to get a decent shot off before it disappeared I love these little critters

Common Skink - probably the most commonly seen species but uncertain of the latin name will try and find that out

The Caspian or Striped-neck terrapin Mauremys caspica is a species of turtle in the family Geoemydidae (=Bataguridae). Found living of the eastern Mediterranean region. It ranges from southwestern former USSR and central Iran to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Israel and Lebanon, northward through Turkey to Bulgaria, and through Cyprus, Crete, and the Ionian Peninsula to former Yugoslavia. In Bahrain it must be regarded as highly endangered due to loss of habitat and pollution.
Today I found a small group of five at Adhari ditches - real survivors considering how the ditches are managed.

On Friday the 14th May I found this Ghost Crab on a beach at Busaiteen. I have only ever seen two others in Bahrain in the last twenty years, and although the beach is part of the large reclamation; this does illustrate that a negative impact in time can be beneficial to other species.

A brownish Dragonfly

Skink

over cooked Red Dragonfly

Abdulla was camping in the Saudi desert during last week and photographed this hedgehog. While they are still relatively common there, here in Bahrain they have become extremely rare. While they were found as far north as Zallaq village in the past, they are now confined to the restricted area to the south of the island. I was struck by the size of the ears, a typical adaptation to the desert climate. Their current status is really unknown.