The Wildlife in Abu Dhabi

No, I don't mean the "wild life" as in lifestyle. I am talking zoological life here.

In the city, we don't see much wildlife beyond birds, lots and lots of birds. There is quite a variety since the UAE is part of the flight path for our winged friends' migratory patterns. One really fun native bird here (besides the pigeon) is the flamingo, which can be found outside of town in some of the estuaries and coastal ponds. There's also the hoopoe with its long beak and impressive crest and the falcon, the national symbol and a traditional hunting tool in the Beduin culture.

As for insects, we have ants (but not fire ants) and a few roaches. It's nothing like Beaufort's roaches, though. We also have quite a few geckoes here, but they don't talk like the cute little guy selling car insurance on tv. Scorpions can be found if you look carefully, but they tend to exist in sandy areas a bit outside of downtown Abu Dhabi (they're nocturnal anyway).

Outside of the city, on the mainland, you can find thousands of camels along with the occasional oryx, gazelle, and various lizards. Other tougher-to-spot animals include sand boas, vipers, the Arabian hare, the Arabian wildcat, the caracal (another type of wild cat), the rock hyrax, the hyena, and the jird (a small rodent). Finally, let's not forget that OTHER magnificent symbol of the Arabian peninsula, second only to camels: the Arabian horse.

Along the coast, we have many colorful tropical fish (think FINDING NEMO) in our coral reefs, plus dolphins, manatees, crustaceans, and the more-than-occasional oil tanker.

Of course, in the city we have plenty of cats (far too many strays)--but very few dogs.