Salalah: Dr Hadi bin Muslim al Hakmani shows great interest in the preservation of the Arabian leopard for more than 20 years. He has a leading experience in developing strategies and programmes to protect this endangered animal in the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He is presently in charge of wildlife and biodiversity conservation efforts undertaken by the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Arabian leopard formerly lived in a wide stretch extending from Palestine in the northwest and along the mountains adjoining the Red Sea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Yemen, and eastward towards the Hadhramaut and Mahra mountains in Yemen all the way to the mountains of Dhofar and the eastern and western Hajar Mountains including the mountains of Musandam in the Sultanate of Oman. It was also found in the mountains of the United Arab Emirates. Nowadays, its area of presence shrank to the mountains of the Arabian Peninsula.
Presently, the Arabian leopard lives in small groups separated from each other in the south of the Sultanate of Oman (Dhofar Governorate) and the mountains of southern and eastern Yemen, with a small number living in the south of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is considered a rare tiger species that is classified as critically endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classification.
Al Hakmani said: “Studying the Arabian leopard is not easy compared to tigers in Africa due to the fact that it lives in small groups beside being a solitary animal that lives mostly alone. We study it indirectly using camera traps and radio tracking and also by tracking signs and traces related to it to find out about its genetics. The urbanization development such as the construction of roads and modern cities that took place in Dhofar Governorate widely affected the presence and movement of the Arabian leopard.”
Al Hakmani pointed to his participation in a comprehensive study on the genetic diversity and genetics of the Arabian leopard which used different tiger samples from the Sultanate of Oman, the Republic of Yemen, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The study provided very important information and data for specialists and authorities concerned with the conservation of the Arabian leopard to take appropriate and effective measures to protect this endangered animal. — ONA
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