🇴🇲 NUBIAN IBEX, ARABIAN ORYX, AND BIRDS GALORE! - Jibal Alhayaa Reserve, Oman

[polar swan]

Welcome to the mountains of life! Here in Oman, hunting is prohibited, but for you this is an exception. We need hunters here to better study the habits of the animals here, and due to your track record of ethical hunting, you have been selected to come here! Enjoy your stay!
————————————————————————
Species:

MAMMALS

Returning:
Red Fox (C2)

New:
Sand Cat (C1)
Honey Badger (C2)
Rüpell’s Fox (C2)
Golden Jackal (C2)
Arabian Caracal (C2)
Arabian Gazelle (C3)
Arabian Wolf (C3)
Arabian Tahr (C4)
Afghan Urial (C4)
Nubian Ibex (C4)
Striped Hyena (C5)
Arabian Oryx (C6)
Arabian Leopard (C7) (LOW POPULATION)

BIRDS

Returning:
Eurasian Wigeon (C1)

New:
Chukar (C1)
Sand Partridge (C1)
Arabian Partridge (C1)
MacQueen’s Bustard (C1)
————————————————————————

🇴🇲 NUBIAN IBEX, ARABIAN ORYX, AND BIRDS GALORE! - Jibal Alhayaa Reserve, Oman

[proud lake]

This is nice

[polar swan]

This map would likely be a lot different than most maps. All of its lakes or “wadis” would be very very small, and most animals would have short or non-existent drink times due to this. They would still be great places to hunt due to a lot of feed zones surrounding them.

[errant sinew]

Do you want me to make a map?

[polar swan]

Since you are much, MUCH better at making maps than I am, I would appreciate it if you did make a map.

[errant sinew]

So a lot of little lakes? And what would the terrain be like, or just wing it

[polar swan]

The terrain would be mostly desert/scrub, and the southwest of the map would have mountains. The northern part of the map would have a coastline .

I added 2 new species that I think would make for great introductions: The Striped Hyena and The Honey Badger.

[vivid phoenix]

I would LOVE to see this in game

[polar swan]

Same, I think it would be a very unique map.

[scarlet fjord]

Legalities aside, I think this is a brilliant idea!

[polar swan]

I mean…Nepal doesn’t have the most legal list of species, so a map in the Arabian Peninsula justified by the story could kinda work.

[scarlet fjord]

Yes, I absolutely agree. Oman/Emirates is a great choice too.

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #1

SAND CAT

Behavior: Nocturnal predator, avoids others of its species

Habitat: Low elevation desert, coastal dunes, oasis

Senses: Excellent hearing and smell, fairly good sight

Social: Solitary and territorial

Active: Crepuscular and Nocturnal

Recommended Equipment: Class 1 Ammo, Predator “Jackrabbit” Caller

Species: Felis margarita

Difficulty: Average

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #2

HONEY BADGER

Behavior: Extremely aggressive and territorial

Habitat: Found in most habitats from Mountains, Forests, Deserts, and Coastal

Senses: Strong smell and sight , Good hearing

Social: Solitary and Territorial

Active: Active both during day and night

Recommended Equipment: Class 2 Ammo

Species: Mellivora capensis

Difficulty: Very Hard

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #3

RÜPELL’S FOX

Behavior: Skittish and wary

Habitat: Mountains, Rocky Desert, Woodland, Foothills

Senses: Excellent smell and hearing, Decent sight

Social: Lives in mated pairs, sometimes solitary

Active: Dusk and Dawn

Recommended Equipment: Class 2 Ammo, Predator “Jackrabbit” Caller

Species: Vulpes rueppellii

Difficulty: Average

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #4

GOLDEN JACKAL

Behavior: Skittish and defensive

Habitat: Variety of habitats, excluding high mountains

Senses: Excellent smell and hearing, fairly good sight

Social: Solitary or in small packs

Active: Active at all times

Recommended Equipment:
Class 2 Ammo, Predator “Jackrabbit” Caller

Species: Canis aureus

Difficulty: Average

[astral bramble]

what software did you use to create this map?

[polar swan]

I wasn’t the one that made the map, but I could ask the creator.

[astral bramble]

that would be nice of you, thank you

[polar swan]

The Procreate app on the App Store

[astral bramble]

Ok thanks you 😀

I just looked but I don't have the app store, I have the Play store and only that. No problem, I'll try to find something similar. But thanks anyway

[polar swan]

I’d bet if you look it up, you’ll find it.

[astral bramble]

I finally found it but ultimately, since I'm going to Austria in a few days and have to pay, I prefer not to pay the thing. But hey, I've already done what my biomes should look like for a map idea. I just wanted to have something to visualize but nothing I tried really pleased me so it doesn't matter I will describe it in writing

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #5

ARABIAN CARACAL

Behavior: Territorial and curious

Habitat: Rocky deserts and scrub

Senses: Overall great senses

Social: Solitary and territorial

Active: Mostly crepuscular and nocturnal

Recommended Equipment: Class 2 Ammo

Species: Caracal caracal schmitzi

Difficulty: Hard

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #6

ARABIAN WOLF

Behavior: Social and territorial, but skittish

Habitat: Deserts and rocky scrubland

Senses: Legendary senses of smell and hearing, great eyesight

Social: Lives in small packs of 5 - 8

Active: Mostly nocturnal, occasionally diurnal

Recommended Equipment:
Class 3 Ammo

Species: Canis lupus arabs

Difficulty: Very hard

Codex Entry #7

ARABIAN GAZELLE

Behavior: Skittish but distrait

Habitat: Lowland habitats of all sorts

Senses: Excellent hearing, good smell, poor hearing

Social: Males live in bachelor herds, females live in same gender herds

Active: Diurnal

Recommended Equipment:
Class 3 Ammo, Buck "Snort Wheeze" Caller

Species: Gazella arabica

Difficulty: Average

Codex Entry #8

ARABIAN TAHR

Class: 4

Behavior: Curious but easily spooked

Habitat: Rocky slopes and
mountainous scrub

Senses: Excellent smell and sight, decent hearing

Social: Bulls are solitary, cows live in small herds of 4 - 6.

Active: Dawn and Dusk

Recommended Equipment: Class 4 Ammo

Species: Arabitragus jayakari

Difficulty: Average

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #9

AFGHAN URIAL

Behavior: Curious but easily spooked

Habitat: Mountains

Senses: Excellent scent and eyesight, poor hearing

Social: Live in mixed herds of 10 - 15

Active: Dawn and Dusk

Recommended Equipment:
Class 4 Ammo

Species: Ovis vignei cycloceros

Difficulty: Average

[errant sinew]

it'd be cool if they could make the Araibian Tahr a Great One too

[astral bramble]

Or a great one Omani Urial

[polar swan]

Would be very cool

[polar swan]

Codex Entry #10

NUBIAN IBEX

Behavior: Wary and skittish

Habitat: Mountains

Senses: Excellent vision and hearing, good eyesight

Social: Live in herds with a lead male and many other males & females

Active: Dawn to Dusk

Recommended Equipment:
Class 4 Ammo

Species: Capra nubiana

Difficulty: Average

Codex Entry #11

STRIPED HYENA

Behavior: Wary, shy, and skittish

Habitat: Very large variety of habitats

Senses: Legendary senses of smell and hearing, good eyesight

Social: Solitary or lives in small packs

Active: At night

Recommended Equipment:
Class 5 Ammo

Species: Hyaena hyaena

Difficulty: Hard

Codex Entry #12

ARABIAN ORYX

Behavior: Skittish but curious

Habitat: Lowland deserts and scrub

Senses: Legendary sense of smell, good hearing and eyesight

Social: Live in large mixed herds of 10 - 15

Active: Dawn, Dusk, and during storms

Recommended Equipment:
Class 6 Ammo

Species: Oryx leucoryx

Difficulty: Hard

Codex Entry #13

ARABIAN LEOPARD

Behavior: Highly territorial, but wary

Habitat: High mountains and montane scrublands

Senses: Exceptional senses of smell and hearing, decent eyesight

Social: Solitary

Active: Evening and night

Recommended Equipment:
Class 7 Ammo

Species: Panthera pardus nimr

Difficulty: Very Hard

Map population would be about 8

Codex Entry #14

CHUKAR

Behavior: Wary and skittish

Habitat: Rocky terrain

Senses: Poor scent and hearing, amazing sense of sight

Social: Live in large covets of 10 - 20

Active: At all times

Recommended Equipment:
Class 1 Ammo

Species: Alectoris chukar

Difficulty: Easy

Codex Entry #15

SAND PARTRIDGE

Behavior: Vocal and migratory

Habitat: Rocky desert and sandy dunes

Senses: Poor scent and hearing, excellent eyesight

Social: Live in coveys of 5 - 15

Active: Dawn to dusk

Recommended Equipment:
Class 1 Ammo

Species: Ammoperdix heyi

Difficulty: Easy

Codex Entry #16

ARABIAN PARTRIDGE

Behavior: Vocal and wary

Habitat: High mountains and vegetated slopes

Senses: Poor smell and hearing, excellent eyesight

Social: Live in pairs or in coveys of 5 - 8

Active: Morning and Evening

Recommended Equipment:
Class 1 Ammo

Species: Alectoris melanocephala

Difficulty: Easy

Codex Entry #17

MACQUEENS BUSTARD

Behavior: Migratory and vocal

Habitat: Variety of habitats in many regions

Senses: Poor smell, good hearing and sight

Social: Solitary or lives in small groups

Active: Most times of day

Recommended Equipment:
Class 1 Ammo, Bustard Decoy and Caller

Species: Chlamydotis macqueenii

Difficulty: Easy

[dusty spruce]

“Ovis vignei cycloceros” is the commonly known as the Afghan Urial

From what I could find regarding Urials in Oman (if they still exist there) the correct trinomial would be “Ovis vignei arabica” (if it is a naturally occurring subspecies and not an introduced subspecies)

[polar swan]

From what I’ve seen, the “Omani Urial” is an introduced population of Afghan Urial from Eastern Iran. I Probably could’ve just called them Afghan Urial.

[dusty spruce]

It would make sense to call them that

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Urial that existed in Oman were introduced, a lot of animals were introduced by rich Arab royalty, heck the UAE has an island with free roaming cheetahs, axis deer, urial and a whole bunch of other animals

[copper night]

Oh nice species of animals, lots of them were from mine but i think sand cats would be cool

[compact heath]

Yes put this in the game.

[edgy bough]

This is a pretty awesome concept, even though I don't usually really like exotic maps
bump

[polar swan]

RETURNING SPECIES RANGE MAPS

[lucid panther]

Pretty cool I did something similar with https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1242790590257827941

I would honestly prefere an Iran map over any other in the middle east because that's where you can do the most and best variety of species and biomes

https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1240751703540895995
I also like your Iran post https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1184138319769112648

The middle east is generally an overlooked region let's hope for more peace in this great region in the future

[polar swan]

The main reason that I chose to make an idea like this over a better version of my Iran map idea is that Oman is generally considered the most peaceful country in the Middle East. It would be a great map despite hunting being illegal there.

[lucid panther]

Israel used to be relatively safe as well

[proud lake]

Reviving this

[polar swan]

Lowkey forgot I made this but let’s get another unique map!

[prime hare]

I adore how thought out and intracate you've made this too, it's genuinely so so impressive!

[undone timber]

Thats would be nice af

[lucid panther]

Thanks

[polar swan]

Another species I think might work on this map is the Rock (or Cape) Hyrax, which can be found in the mountainous regions of southeast Oman.

[kind flume]

Sounds cool

[proud lake]

bump

[lucid panther]

https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1242790590257827941

https://discord.com/channels/393040947006406657/1314141855801147442

[south elbow]

Arabian Tahr hunted by his majestic Prince Abdul Reza Pahlavi of Iran.

[south elbow]

This species in Oman is questionable.

[polar swan]

Afghan Urial specifically wouldn’t be the species, rather they would just be classified as “Feral Urial” as there have been multiple subspecies introduced to northern Oman.

[dusty spruce]

There are also rock paintings that depict a wide range of animals including “wild sheep”

Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.15086

Now the paper I am linking does list wild sheep with the binomial name Ovis ammon, which is the Argali but it does mention Mouflon (which are classified Ovis gmelini) and Urial (Ovis vignei) in there and in the paper both Mouflon and Urial are lumped together under Ovis orientalis

And of importance to this thread, it states that the last known occurrence of the wild sheep was in Northern Oman in 1981 (Table 2)

Which means that if these mysterious Omani Urial did live in the area until 1981, there is a good chance they could have been their own subspecies

But to keep things simple, I would go with an introduced sheep from either Iran or Pakistan (its close enough geographically)

[south elbow]

Currently, wild—either native or introduced—specimens of the genus Ovis have not been found in Oman. I mentioned the species in question because the subspecies assigned to this type of specimen in Oman (found in a private collection) could, based on my judgment and my book, be a Laristan Mouflon (native to southern Iran, just across from Oman—possibly imported), rather than an Afghan Urial (native to Afghanistan, which is much farther from Oman).
Here are the photos of the specimens in question, taken in Oman. The other photos are from my book, used for comparison with the specimens in the images. Photos from omannews.gov.om.

Here is some information I have from my books regarding the matter.

[south elbow]

This article is interesting for my knowledge

[broken laurel]

Cool, but how about camels?

[copper night]

i like this idea. Oman has so many rocky regions and i think this map would be really cool. but i feel like there should be only 3-5 Oryx groups because there is around 1,000-2,000 in the wild

[errant sinew]

Bump