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Arabian leopard
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 (05-14-2019, 10:59 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: MBS wants to bring the leopard, besides other wildlife, back to Al-Ula, an archaeological site in the mountainous region of the Hejaz, north of Medina in western Saudi Arabia: In a boost to Saudi Arabia's bid to save the leopard, 2 cubs have been born at Prince Saud Al-Faisal Wildlife Research Center in Ta'if, located east of Mecca in the mountainous region of the Hijaz, which is part of the west Arabian mountainous region of the Sarawat, where the leopard would naturally occur: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1533636/saudi-arabia, http://www.yemenileopard.org/files/cms/r...eopard.pdf Arab News:  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author "AL-ULA: The birth of two Arabian leopard cubs has been hailed as a “new beacon of hope” in Saudia Arabia’s bid to reintroduce the critically endangered big cat back into the wild. The Saudi Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) revealed that the male and female cubs, born on April 26 at the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Wildlife Research Center in Taif, had now been vaccinated after passing a crucial 12-week developmental milestone. The news marks a significant step in the RCU’s breeding program to help preserve and eventually reintroduce the subspecies into the north-west of the Kingdom as part of its portfolio of Arabian Leopard Initiatives (ALI). The commission’s charter aims to deliver a sensitive and responsible transformation of the AlUla region and protect its nature and wildlife. During the initial 12-week period of the newborn leopards’ lives, they successfully bonded with their 10-year-old mother Hamms (which means “whisper” in Arabic), learned important behaviors and grew stronger in the seclusion of their den. The cubs will remain with their mother for the next 18 months to two years in line with global best practice for captive breeding programs. Saudi Minister of Culture and RCU Gov. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, said: “This is a historic moment in our efforts to reintroduce the Arabian leopard to the AlUla region. “With fewer than an estimated 200 Arabian leopards remaining in the wild globally, this is one of the most critically endangered animals in the world, and these cubs represent a new beacon of hope for the renewal of a subspecies on the brink of extinction. It is our duty to protect, conserve and build population numbers to preserve the species from becoming a footnote of history. “That is why the RCU is actively championing the revitalization of the Arabian leopard to support the future of this rare and majestic big cat that is native to AlUla,” the prince added. “The birth of these two cubs will be the first of many as our specialized captive breeding program grows and develops – boosted by the support of local experts, as well as global partners like Panthera.” The commission’s ALI combines several projects working toward the preservation of the subspecies including an extensive captive breeding and reintroduction program, and the establishment of the Global Fund for the Arabian Leopard. As a center of excellence, the RCU is establishing a steering committee with leading experts from around the world to enhance and inform ALI’s captive breeding, husbandry, veterinary and reintroduction practices in the existing breeding facility located in Taif. The committee will also help guide the design of a state-of-the-art breeding center to be constructed in AlUla county and consult on habitat revitalization projects in the Sharaan Nature Reserve. It was announced in February that the newly created Global Fund for the Arabian Leopard will have an initial endowment of $25 million (SR94 million), making it the largest fund in the world wholly dedicated to safeguarding the Arabian leopard. Currently in the strategic planning and operational set-up phase, the fund will be fully mobilized by the end of this year. The news of the leopard cubs’ birth follows the signing in June of a partnership agreement between the RCU governor and Dr. Thomas Kaplan, chairman of the global wild cat conservation organization Panthera. Saudi Arabia, through this partnership, has in turn joined the Global Alliance for Wild Cats, making a commitment to invest $20 million over the next 10 years." (08-01-2019, 10:25 AM)BorneanTiger Wrote:(05-14-2019, 10:59 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: MBS wants to bring the leopard, besides other wildlife, back to Al-Ula, an archaeological site in the mountainous region of the Hejaz, north of Medina in western Saudi Arabia: And this is important, considering that earlier, a $20 million deal to save leopards had been signed between the Royal Commission for Al-Ula (RCU) and Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization: https://www.arabnews.com/node/1508091/saudi-arabia Also, there is a project to conserve the leopard in Yemen, at the courtesy of the Netherlands: http://www.rewildingfoundation.org/proje...-in-yemen/ 
From being extinct in the wild, the Arabian oryx was reclassified in 1986 as “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species after its reintroduction to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2011, with its global numbers increased to thousands, the Arabian oryx was the first animal ever to revert to “Vulnerable” status after having previously been listed as extinct in the wild.
[*]Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) aims to replicate this miraculous turnaround for the Arabian leopard – a little-studied, desert-dwelling subspecies listed as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN’s Red List – and for leopard populations everywhere with a new $20 million commitment to the Global Alliance for Wild Cats. [*]The Arabian Leopard Initiatives will support a holistic and urgent program to rigorously monitor the Arabian leopard’s population and distribution, as well as halt its decline through community conservation projects. The cornerstone will be a captive breeding program dedicated to shoring up Arabian leopard populations and reintroducing them into their former habitats. [*]This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay. The Arabian Peninsula is home to one of the greatest — yet mostly unrecognized — species resurrection stories in recent times: the Arabian oryx. Left for dead after it disappeared from the wild in the 1970s, this iconic species, characterized by its long straight horns, was saved from extinction by a visionary captive-breeding and reintroduction program inspired by the late founder of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. This effort constituted an unparalleled conservation success that is now regarded as a case study in how to do things “right” in order to save a species. From being extinct in the wild, the Arabian oryx was reclassified in 1986 as “Endangered” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species after its reintroduction to Oman, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and the United Arab Emirates. In 2011, with its global numbers increased to thousands, the Arabian oryx was the first animal ever to revert to “Vulnerable” status after having previously been listed as extinct in the wild. Today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) aims to replicate this miraculous turnaround for the Arabian leopard — a little-studied, desert-dwelling subspecies listed as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN’s Red List — and for leopard populations everywhere with a new $20 million commitment to the Global Alliance for Wild Cats. Fewer than 200 Arabian leopards roam often-isolated patches of Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia; the leopard stands as the most persecuted big cat in the world, and its potential loss would be catastrophic for the world’s biological and cultural heritage. But RCU has announced a series of consequential initiatives to bring their country’s big cats back from the brink. In the shadow of the recently released (and devastating) United Nations report on biodiversity, which found that one million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction, the new Arabian Leopard Initiatives (ALI) represent a much-needed source of hope, worthy of the world’s attention and support.  *This image is copyright of its original author Despite the ubiquity of leopard spots in fashion, leopards lack the critical mass of champions that characterizes other threatened species such as lions, tigers, rhinos, or elephants. The reality is simply that without advocates who genuinely care, the world’s most charismatic species are at the most risk. While popular culture is putting big cats in the spotlight (as in the case of Netflix’s “Our Planet,” which captured for the first time Arabian leopards meeting and mating, or the new remake of The Lion King), world leaders must also step up. Now the Arabian leopard’s champions have emerged. Led by its Governor, HH Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al-Saud, and Chief Executive Amr AlMadani, RCU’s experiment in biological and cultural conservation is centered on a comprehensive and innovative ecotourism project located in the Kingdom’s northwest, home to towering sandstone mountains and Saudi Arabia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Commission has established the Al Sharaan Nature Reserve, which promises to become irresistible to both nature lovers and those curious about the region’s prodigious cultural and archeological footprint. With reintroduction of the Nubian ibex, red-necked ostrich, and Arabian gazelles underway, the project is already proving its mettle as one of the world’s most ambitious landscape rehabilitation ventures. The Reserve delivers that “golden ticket” required for apex predators to flourish — namely, plenty of land in which to roam and prey to consume. But RCU will have the most global reverberations, in fact, in the launch of the Arabian Leopard Initiatives. At the heart of ALI lies a fund whose endowment at last will ensure a sustainable future for the Arabian leopard – one in which it is easy to imagine the cat thriving across the Arabian Peninsula and beyond, as a new symbol for regional prosperity and cooperation. The fund will support a holistic and urgent program to rigorously monitor the Arabian leopard’s population and distribution, as well as halt its decline through community conservation projects. The cornerstone will be a captive breeding program dedicated to shoring up Arabian leopard populations and reintroducing them into their former habitats. Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization of which I am Chairman and co-founder, will be using the very best practices in both environmental and community engagement, jointly with The Royal Commission for AlUla, in implementing their strategies. Just weeks after the official launch of ALI, the captive breeding program has already borne precious fruit with the births of twin male and female Arabian leopard cubs to mother Hamms. A timely source of inspiration and momentum, these cubs are also a reminder that when scientific ingenuity meets a fierce commitment to transformative conservation, a brighter future for the species — out of reach for many decades — suddenly appears within sight. ALI seeks to shake us all out of our longstanding apathy, loudly proclaiming that species conservation is not only possible, but paramount to our collective environmental, economic, and cultural health. It not only aims to save this particular subspecies, but also create a new model combining scientific research, cultural preservation, landscape-wide ecological restoration, and ecotourism. It is my hope that others will follow in the Commission’s bold footsteps and make the investments necessary to save the rest of the world’s critical ecosystems, and the threatened species that live within them. Some 50 years ago, conservationists and Arab leaders faced a clear choice: let the Arabian oryx “go gentle into that good night,” to invoke Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, or mobilize with the abandon required to save a species. With the Arabian leopard, in our time, let us once again prove that “hopeless” is but a mindset. https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/a-life...ommentary/ 
Rare endangered Arabian leopard sighted in Omani mountains
 *This image is copyright of its original author Muscat: Cameras have captured the endangered Arabian leopard in Dhofar Mountains, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs has said. In an online statement, the Ministry Environment and Climate Affairs said: “Wildlife Protection Units of the Directorate General of Environment and Climate Affairs in Dhofar Governorate were able to capture the movements of the endangered Arabian leopard, through infrared cameras.” The species has been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of animals that are close to extinction, with fewer than 200 Arabian leopards now roaming the wild. In Oman, leopards are protected from being hunted and captured by Ministerial Decision and Royal Decrees. Under Royal Decree 6/2003, the penalty for hunting or capturing leopards is imprisonment for between six months and five years, and a fine of up to OMR5,000. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the main stronghold for the Arabian Leopard is a continuous tract of territory in Dhofar, as well as the Hawf area of north-eastern Yemen. There is also a small, isolated population in Saudi Arabia. Link: https://timesofoman.com/article/1890653/Oman/Environment/Rare-endangered-Arabian-leopard-sighted-in-Omani-mountains (10-02-2019, 12:33 PM)Lycaon Wrote: Rare endangered Arabian leopard sighted in Omani mountains Specifically the southern Omani Mountains on the border with eastern Yemen. The Dhofar Mountains of southern Oman are contiguous with the Hadhramaut Mountains of eastern Yemen, which in turn are contiguous with the Sarat Mountains of western Yemen and Saudi Arabia. If this sighting was in the Hajar Mountains of northern Oman, then it would have been more interesting, because the leopard is presumed to be extinct in that region, and because northern Oman shares the Hajar range with the eastern UAE, the reappearance of the leopard in even the Omani section of the Hajar would make it more likely that it would reappear in the UAE: Source: The Arabian Leopards of Oman by Andrew Spalton and Hadi Al Hikmani, illustrated by Vicky White: https://www.earthtouchnews.com/conservat...in-danger/  *This image is copyright of its original author
This is the closest we can get to visualize wild arabian leopard in the U.A.E.
From the Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre. Johan B.  *This image is copyright of its original author
Foundation for Endangered Wildlife Yemen
First photograph of a male leopard in Yemen.  *This image is copyright of its original author
(10-06-2019, 12:48 PM)Lycaon Wrote: Foundation for Endangered Wildlife Yemen Is this the area of Al-Hawf in northwestern Yemen, on the border with the Dhofari region of Oman? This article on a leopard being spotted in the Dhofar mentioned that it was present in Al-Hawf: https://timesofoman.com/article/1890653/...-mountains
The page did not specify the exact location of this photo .
(10-06-2019, 10:28 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote:(10-06-2019, 12:48 PM)Lycaon Wrote: Foundation for Endangered Wildlife Yemen (10-02-2019, 04:19 PM)Lycaon Wrote: This is the closest we can get to visualize wild arabian leopard in the U.A.E. Whether or not the leopard can survive in the Hajar Mountains of the UAE and Oman partly depends on how well a potential prey thrives there, that is the Arabian tahr, a caprine which also happens to be present at Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre, see my new thread: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-caprine...5#pid93875
@BorneanTiger
Have you ever thought about taking a trip to oman to maybe spot some arabian leopards? I remember driving in salalah and seeing a wolf cross the road but no leopards.
Arab leopard with Nubian Ibex kill.
 *This image is copyright of its original author photo by Steve Kaufman The photo was taken in Israel in the 1980s, so not sure if the status of Leopards in that region. (11-01-2019, 12:12 AM)Lycaon Wrote: @BorneanTiger I've occasionally visited Oman, but so far, only for Muscat's airport and a town on the border of the UAE and Oman, not really much of the Omani interior, but still, the UAE has some of the Hajar Mountains, and I would visit or go close to them.
@BorneanTiger
Ah ok in any case ,I highly recommend visiting the salalah area espesically during Khareef and exploring the mountains. |
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