Return of the leopard is at the heart of plans to conserve and regenerate Saudi Arabia’s landscapes and wildlife
It is one of the most beautiful, mysterious and symbolic animals ever to have graced the wild landscapes of Saudi Arabia, which it has done since time immemorial.
But the Arabian Leopard is also classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “critically endangered” – one step away from extinction in the wild.
Fewer than 200 are believed to exist throughout the Arabian Peninsula, with the largest confirmed surviving population found in Oman’s Dhofar Mountains.
In Saudi Arabia, the animal is feared to be all but extinct, driven to the edge by centuries of uncontrolled hunting, of both itself and its prey, and by the steady loss of suitable habitats as human development has expanded.
All that is beginning to change, however, thanks to a world-leading captive-breeding program that will return the magnificent animal to the wild.
So far, the Wildlife Research Center in Taif has successfully bred 16 leopards as part of an Arabian Leopard Program being managed by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). The most recent birth of a cub was in April 2021.
Rewilding Arabia
It is one of the most beautiful, mysterious and symbolic animals ever to have graced the wild landscapes of Saudi Arabia, which it has done since time immemorial.
But the Arabian Leopard is also classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “critically endangered” – one step away from extinction in the wild.
Fewer than 200 are believed to exist throughout the Arabian Peninsula, with the largest confirmed surviving population found in Oman’s Dhofar Mountains.
In Saudi Arabia, the animal is feared to be all but extinct, driven to the edge by centuries of uncontrolled hunting, of both itself and its prey, and by the steady loss of suitable habitats as human development has expanded.
All that is beginning to change, however, thanks to a world-leading captive-breeding program that will return the magnificent animal to the wild.
So far, the Wildlife Research Center in Taif has successfully bred 16 leopards as part of an Arabian Leopard Program being managed by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU). The most recent birth of a cub was in April 2021.
Rewilding Arabia