Gulf of Oman desert and semi-desert sea turtle and other sea turtles also occur here, as well as a great variety of birds, some resident and some migratory. There are some protected areas, but in general the habitats have been degraded by the grazing of livestock, especially camels and goats; they are also at risk from oil spills, off-road driving and poaching. In Oman this ecoregion includes the Musandam Peninsula, the enclave of Oman within the UAE on the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the Persian Gulf. In the main part of Oman it includes the coastal plain of the Al Batinah Region on the
Piracy in the Persian Gulf the British to further their agendas in the Persian Gulf. Indian historian Sugata Bose maintains that while he believes the British colonial accounts of piracy were self-serving, he disagrees with Al Qasimi's thesis that piracy was not widespread in the Persian Gulf region. Davies argues that the motives of the Al Qasimi tribe in particular may have been misunderstood and that it cannot be definitively stated that they were pirates due to issues of semantics. J.B. Kelly comments in his treatise on Britain and the Persian Gulf that the Qasimi are undeserving of their reputation as pirates, and goes on