Leopards in Oman
Leopards in Oman – BBC radio 4 documentary
A fascinating audio-diary of trip to Musandam in south Oman to search for signs of the Arabian Leopard. The Arabian Leopard is one of the most endangered big cats in the world. Probably only 200 of these beautiful animals, which are subspecies of the African Leopard, survive in the arid mountains of southern Oman and Yemen. Although the leopard is protected by law in Oman, most of its habitat is not and animals are threatened by lack of their wild prey species, such as Arabian gazelle and the tahr, a species of wild goat. The few remaining leopards are often driven to take domestic goats which bring them directly into conflict with local people, for whom goats are vital.
Watching leopards in Oman (or trying to) The Guardian In the mountains of Oman, visitors can join the only conservation project in the world trying to save the endangered – and elusive – Arabian leopard
Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen (above photo)
By far the largest documented population of wild Arabian leopards exists in the Dhofar region of Oman where David Willis first succeeded in photographing several individuals with a camera trap of his own design in 1989. This lead to the development of the ongoing Arabian Leopard Survey which has succeeded in documenting about 30 individuals in the Jebel Samhan Nature Reserve and on Jebels Qara (Jebel Salalah) and Qammar. The total population of Dhofar is estimated to number around 50.