URGENT NEED

FOR ACTION

OUR AIMS & OBJECTIVES.

The Arabian Leopard Project is a research initiative aiming to assess the population size and structure of the Arabian leopards in a subsection of the Negev Highlands (Israel) in order to facilitate conservation efforts for the species. This idea was first established in 2014 out of an understanding that if nothing will be done (and rather soon) the Arabian leopard population in Israel might go extinct.

ARABIAN LEOPARDSTATUS.

The Arabian leopard is classified in the IUCN's red list as a Critically Endangered species. There are well less than 200 individuals remaining in the wild in highly fragmented populations. The historical distribution of the Arabian leopard included (see picture below): the mountainous regions of the Arabian peninsula (Oman, Yemen and Saudi Arabia), the Jordanian mountains, Sinai peninsula (Egypt), and the Negev and Judean deserts (Israel). The Arabian leopard is believed to extinct in Jordan and Egypt.

There are verified populations of the Arabian leopard in Oman, Yemen and Israel.

Oman: hosts the largest verified population of Arabian leopards. This includes 30 documented individuals in Jebel Samhan Nature Reserve in the Dhofar region.

DISTRIBUTION.

The total population of Dhofar is estimated at approximately 50. Other, smaller populations exist in Jebel Qara and Jebel Qammar.

Yemen: thought to host several populations of Arabian leopards although not documented. In 2011 a female and a male Arabian leopards were photographed in the Hawf Protected Area on the border with Oman. In 2009, feces samples collected near Hajjah were verified as belonging to a leopard.

Israel: a fecal-DNA analysis in the Negev and Judean Deserts from 2003 indicated the existence of at least 9 identified individuals in two sub-populations. However, it has been more than 13 years since the last abundance check in Israel was done.

Distribution map of Arabian leopard: Taken from [Spalton and Al Hikmani (2006) The Leopard in the Arabian Peninsula – Distribution and Subspecies Status]. Further adaptions in acccordance to the most recently available evidence.