A major study suggests that releasing genetically selected, captive-bred Arabian leopards into the wild could significantly aid the recovery of this Critically Endangered species. Through international collaboration and extensive genetic research, scientists aim to enhance the dwindling wild populations in Oman.
Despite revealing extremely low levels of genetic diversity in the wild leopard population in Oman, the team discovered higher levels of genetic diversity in captive leopards across the region, in particular among several individuals originating from neighboring Yemen that helped found today’s captive-breeding population. This important genetic resource has the potential for a major role in the successful recovery of the Arabian leopard.
Dr Hadi Al Hikmani, Arabian leopard Conservation Lead at the Royal Commission for AlUla in Saudi Arabia, described the motivation for this study: ‘The Arabian leopard is one of the world’s rarest carnivores and is extraordinarily elusive. The only way to monitor these leopards in the wild is to deploy camera traps high up across the mountain ranges where the leopards live, and to collect the scats they leave behind on the mountain passes, for DNA analysis.
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