BY MAHYOUB AL-KAMALI
YEMEN TIMES STAFF
Yemen is gifted with rare wildlife in the Arab Peninsula.
Preserving and protecting the wildlife constitutes a tourist and economical resource for the country. This will make the country a magnet for environmental studies and scientific research.
Field visits and surveys have indicated that around 70 species of wildlife are found in Yemen where other countries don't have the same.
Five kinds of Gazelles are found in Yemen such as, the Arab Gazelle which lives in the acacia and savanna environment.
In the eastern regions of the country, animals such as the ibex live in the mountain slopes.
Monkeys still live in groups in different areas and near water springs. But the majority of monkeys are extinct due to the water scarcity.
Among the common animals that have been found is the red fox and stripped hyena that feeds on the meat the dead animals.
Four other kinds of foxes are found in Yemen, such as the sand fox which has a very long ears and has a very small body.
Five species of wild cats are under the threat of extinction along with the Arabic tiger in some of the rocky mountain slopes.
The presenters of the National Bio-diversity Plan said that the leopard in Yemen might now be extinct. It has been last seen in 1963 in Meetan Valley in the south of country.

Birds
Yemen is regarded as one of those countries that is rich in bird life. More than 363 different kinds of birds have been recorded in Yemen. This is attributed to the biological and climate bio-diversity.
Among them are the Abu Manjal bird which can be found around the city of Taiz and the white seabird which can be found in the coastal areas.
There are other different kinds of birds such as the eagle.
Yemeni bird life has gained the focus of the attention of those interested in birds.
The majority of birds live in the mountain heights, including the nightingale, Arabian golden sparrow and Philby's rock partridge
Five seabirds have been recorded in Yemen such as, red-beak tropical bird and the seabird which can be found on the Red Sea and on coasts of the Yemeni islands.
Around 220 migratory birds have been recorded in Yemen during the winter season.
Different rare bird species live in the fresh water, such as ducks and grebes.
The concerned bodies interested in the biological bio-diversity have to realize the great significance of the wildlife considering it is part of Yemen's identity.

Written by Abdulrahman Mutahhar
Translated by Janet Watson

M - How does that Yemeni proverb go, Mus'ida?
Ma - Go on, tell me!
M - The proverb goes, 'He whose wife wears the trousers will hit his neighbour's wife.'
Ma - Oh yes! 'He whose wife wears the trousers will hit his neighbour's wife.' And I'll tell you what! I hadn't heard of any Yemeni or Arab tribesman hitting his neighbour's wife until your nephew came to set himself up and live in our neighbourhood!
M - Look, I'm talking to you about proverbs so you can gain from life's experiences, I'm not asking you to make a song and dance!
Ma - But that's precisely what I want to do! People who were on the scene said that your nephew pulled his neighbour's wife's sitara, and that is very wrong. I've never heard of any Yemeni or Arab tribesman doing something like that before! You'd better go and see what you can do, before those hypocrites and people with their own agendas make mountains out of molehills, and then step to the side to let us clear up the mess!
M - Look, it's got nothing to do with me. It's between them. Since it wasn't me who grabbed at our neighbour's wife's sitara, you needn't worry. People are responsible for their own actions.
Ma - That's all very well, but the woman's husband, children and brothers are not going to accept that slight on their female relative, and they're not going to stay quiet about it either. And you won't be able to slide out of defending your nephew when they come up to accuse him!
M - Anyone who heard you would say you'd become the district governor, Mus'ida!
Ma - It's nothing to do with the district governor, but I'm going to give my brother a call and get him to lend you his gun so that you can take it to that woman's family and tell them you're leaving it with them in recompense for what your nephew did.
M - May God help you, Mus'ida!
Ma - And God give you strength and help you to gird your loins for the sake of your nephew!
M - First you'd better understand the situation properly, and make sure you're in full control of the facts before you leap to conclusions. My nephew has tribal blood and knows the meaning of tribal duties, values and honour and the need to stick to them. He wouldn't dream of taking a passing look at his neighbour's wife, let alone grab at her sitara!
Ma - So what on earth can we do about those witnesses who swear that your nephew grabbed at his neighbour's wife's sitara without any sense of shame?
M - I've no idea. God alone knows the unseen and is the only true witness. People are all different. Testifying to something is one of the things we'll be asked about in front of our maker, and woe betide those who bear false witness on the Day of Reckoning. But there is something I want to know - what's behind this disagreement between my nephew and his neighbours?
Ma - You've asked me before, and I've told you it's because of the children and the street.
M - Go on!
Ma - The houses are full of children, God preserve them from evil!
M - Yes, go on!
Ma - They've got nowhere to play apart from the street, and your nephew's wife, who hasn't got any children of her own, blew up at the children. She said she likes her peace and quiet and that the children were annoying her. So, as I told you, she got really cross with them. One day she shouted at them, another day she cursed them and their parents, another day she accused them of being rude and badly brought up. The last time, though, she went and hit the son of that particular neighbour in the middle of the street. According to her, he'd shot the ball at the window and given her the shock of her life!
M - Peace be upon the Prophet!
Ma - The peace of God be upon him and all his family and companions!
M - And I'll tell you what happened after that! The neighbour heard her son crying and leapt to his defence. The sound of people arguing and shouting brought the women and children of the neighbourhood to see what all the noise was about. My nephew ran to drag his wife back into the house away from all the noise in the street, and when he took hold of her, he accidentally grabbed the neighbour's wife's sitara. She screamed out and got the people present to bear witness, and those false witnesses certainly didn't let her down! And you go leaping to conclusions and want to get me involved alongside my nephew, and make it appear that we're in the wrong! The whole thing is quite ridiculous and has got completely out of hand!