President Donald J. Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East may turn out to be important for critically endangered Arabian leopards. Trump and Saudi officials agreed to a visit by two Arabian leopards to the Smithsonian National Zoo, according to news reports
USA Today said the agreement to bring the leopards to the United States was on the list of trade agreements and other topics discussed by Trump with Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
“We are honored to collaborate with the Royal Commission for AlUla to protect the critically endangered Arabian leopard,” said Brandie Smith, director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. “Saving the world’s most vulnerable species takes global cooperation, scientific rigor and innovation—and that’s what we do best.”
The royal commission referenced by Smith is a government sponsored effort to upgrade a region of Saudi Arabia into an ecotourist and conservation destination.
he leopards once roamed the entire Arabian Peninsula but today are mostly confined to Oman. the estimated worldwide number is about 200. Some live in Yemen. Warfare and photos of dead leopards make it extremely difficult to know their status. They may be functionally extinct in Saudi Arabia. There are believed to be less than 50 in the kingdom. It is possible there may be about 8 in Israel. Arabian Leopards (panthera pardus nimr) are shy and secretive. Males top out around 75 pounds and females about 50. By contrast, the largest Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) can reach 130 pounds. Persian leopards are also endangered. Iran and Russia both have conservation programs in place. Persian leopards may number fewer than 1,000 in the wild.
Saudi Arabia has established a scholarship and study program to train people to manage the rigors of management of the cats.
leopards are under siege throughout the world. The two largest populations are in Africa and India. There are thought to number about 13,000 in India. Africa probably has considerably more but the number is uncertain. Some estimates place the number of Afrcan leopards at over 500,000 but many are skeptical.