To that end it is working in partnership with Panthera, a global conservation organization dedicated to preserving the world’s seven big wild cat species and the critical role they play in global ecosystems.Įventually, the leopards will be released into the Sharaan Nature Reserve, which is being created by the RCU in the dramatic canyon landscapes east of the ancient rock-carved Nabateaen city of Hegra, an area that was the animal’s natural habitat for millennia. The ultimate aim of the RCU through its program is to improve the Arabian leopard’s status on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The birth of this cub in April 2021, pictured here at five months of age, is the latest success in the Arabian Leopard Program. The most recent birth of a cub was in April 2021. 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). 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.Īll that is beginning to change, however, thanks to a world-leading captive-breeding program that will return the magnificent animal to the wild. Besides Turkey, mountain gazelles can be found in Israel.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.īut 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.įewer than 200 are believed to exist throughout the Arabian Peninsula, with the largest confirmed surviving population found in Oman’s Dhofar Mountains. Officials of the Nature Conservation and National Parks maintain effective control and carry out awareness-raising activities around the area. The almost-extinct species have been under intensive protection, said Ethem Boz, the regional head of the General Directorate of the Forestry and Water Affairs. Bülent Gerici, one of the local residents in the Perişan neighborhood, said mountain gazelles sometimes appear in their farms and the locals think these animals are beneficial for the village. He said the biggest reason for their survival is that they are living in the forbidden zone, preventing them being hunted. Conservation activities have been taking place since 2010, Öğünç continued. Abdullah Öğünç, the president of TTKD's Hatay Branch, said the association is happy to see the increasing number of gazelles around the region. They treat mountain gazelles as sacred animals, and believe that something bad will happen if any of them are killed. The local residents also make efforts to protect them. Part of their habitat is located in a forbidden military zone, creating a safe haven for the animals. In 2009, the number of mountain gazelles was around 150. The Forestry and Water Affairs Ministry, the General Directorate of Nature Protection and National Parks, the Association for Conserving Turkey's Nature (TTKD) Hatay Branch and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Turkey's Representative Office, have conducted projects to increase their number. Mountain gazelles had been thought to be extinct in Turkey, but a limited number was detected seven years ago. The almost-extinct species has settled in a nearly 7,000-hectare mountainous terrain between the neighborhoods of İncirli and Sucu, which is 20 kilometers away from the district of Kırıkhan, near the Syrian border. Following comprehensive precautions, the number of mountain gazelles (gazella gazella) living in the southern Hatay city has increased from 150 to 345 in the last five years.
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