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29 March 2024

Two Arabian leopard cubs born in Saudi

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By Staff

Saudi Arabia has succeeded in breeding two cubs from a couple of the Arabian leopards as part of a drive by the world’s oil superpower to save the endangered animal from total extinction, newspapers said on Thursday.

The two leopard babies were born this summer at the National Centre for Wildlife Research in the western town of Taif, they said.“The birth of the two is part of our efforts to breed endangered animals and save them from extinction…other breeding programmes are under way,” said Prince Bandar bin Mohammed bin Saud, secretary general of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD).

“Arabian leopards are considered among the most endangered species in the world as their number does not exceed 200 in the Arabian Peninsula.”

In a recent statement, Prince Bandar said NCWCD was carrying out major leopard and tiger breeding programme which also involves the installation of 50 thermal imaging cameras in areas stretching thousands of miles from the northern border with Jordan to the southern border with Yemen.

He said the Arabian leopard, which had lived in large numbers in the Arabian peninsula, has become extinct because of massive hunting and development plans following the discovery of oil.

“Concerning the Arabian tiger, it could exist in just a few numbers across Jordan’s mountains and the UAE…in Saudi Arabia, we have found two of this animal,” the Prince said.

“We have launched a project to breed this animal and study its habitats and the way it lives…the project includes the installation of nearly 50 thermal imaging cameras across the Kingdom’s western region from the border with Jordan to Yemen…we installed them two months ago but so far we have not spotted any animal it is a big project and the study will last at least two years.

”Prince Bandar said NCWCD had launched another programme in parallel with that project involving the breeding of the Arabian tiger in captivity. “We have just had some baby tigers and we expect to have more this year…but there are many other animals that have become endangered in this region including the Arabian Oryx, the Hubara Bustard, the Arabian Gazelle and other species.

”He said Arabian tigers and leopards are killed by people who “do not understand their importance in the environment.”The Prince said the Authority had recently proposed tougher penalties against poachers who hunt inside reserves and other exclusion zones in the country.According to a recent wildlife study in the UAE, the Arabian leopard is a leopard subspecies native to the Arabian Peninsula and classified as critically endangered since 1996.

Less than 200 animals remained in 2006, and the population trend is decreasing. The Arabian leopard is the smallest leopard subspecies. It has pelage hues that vary from pale yellow to deep golden or tawny and are patterned with rosettes.

At a weight of about 30 kg for the male and around 20 kg for the female, the Arabian leopard is much smaller than the African Leopard and other Asian subspecies.