Northward expansion of the Critically Endangered Arabian leopard in Dhofar, Oman HADI AL HIKMANI * 1 , 2 , 3 and KHAL I D AL HIKMANI 1 , 2 , 4
Abstract The Critically Endangered Arabian leopard Panthera pardus nimr was believed to be absent from the Nejd region in Dhofar Governorate, Oman. However, a scat confirmed by DNA analysis in 2011 and camera-trap images from 2014 confirmed the presence of the leopard in this region. During 2014–2021, our camera traps docu- mented at least eight individual leopards, demonstrating the species is resident and breeding in the region. This find- ing extends the Arabian leopard’s known range in Oman by c. 40 km northwards. To improve detection probability, we recommend that camera-trap surveys for the leopard in the Arabian Peninsula are of at least 18 weeks duration. We ad- vocate the designation of central and western areas of the Nejd as a National Nature Reserve, to protect critical habitat for the Arabian leopard and for other species in this region.
Keywords Arabian leopard, Arabian Peninsula, camera trap, Dhofar mountains, Nejd, Oman, Panthera pardus nimr
rently occupies just 2% of its historical range (Jacobson et al., 2016; Dunford et al., 2023; Al Hikmani et al., 2024b). Arabian leopards face multiple threats, including persecu- tion by people, habitat loss and fragmentation, prey scarcity, capture for the illegal pet trade, and genetic depletion as a result of the small population size (Al Jumaily et al., 2006; Spalton et al., 2006; Al Johany, 2007; Al Hikmani, 2018; Islam et al., 2018). The global wild population is estimated to comprise 100–120 individuals, with the largest known subpopulation in the Dhofar Governorate of southern Oman (Al Hikmani et al., 2024a, 2024b). In Dhofar, the leopard was once widespread throughout
T
the mountainous areas, including the northward draining wadis of the Nejd region (Spalton & Al Hikmani, 2014). The Nejd, north of the Dhofar mountains (Fig. 1), is charac- terized by a heterogeneous landscape of rolling plateaus, low cliffs andwadis that extend northward to the Empty Quarter
*Corresponding author,
h.alhakmani@
rcu.gov.sa 1Office for Conservation of the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, Muscat,
Oman 2Royal Commission for AlUla, AlUla, Saudi Arabia 3IUCN Species Survival Commission Cat Specialist Group 4General Directorate of Environment, Environment Authority, Salalah, Oman
Received 26 May 2024. Revision requested 12 June 2024. Accepted 28 October 2024. First published online 10 February 2025.
he Arabian leopard Panthera pardus nimr is the largest extant felid species in the Arabian Peninsula and cur-
sand desert. Prominent wadis in this area include Aydam and Nakhur in the west, Marweet, Gharah, Amat and Ghadun in the central area, and Andhur and Arah in the east. The Nejd is arid, receiving ,100 mm of rainfall per year (Al Kindi et al., 2023), with sparse vegetation dominated by thorn trees such as Vachellia spp. Annual temperature is 10–28 °C in the winter (December–March) and 35–45 °C in the summer (April–August). There are only a few villages along the southern and northern fringes of the Nejd, and the Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve occupies the easternmost area. Anecdotal local reports of killing of leopards suggested
that the Arabian leopard may have been extirpated from the Nejd, with any remaining individuals having been pushed towards the southern slopes of the Dhofar moun- tains (Fig. 1). Camera-trap surveys in the central Nejd be- tween 20 September 2004 and 17 June 2007, and in the western Nejd between 5 September and 30 December 2013 did not detect leopards, leading to presumption of their ab- sence (Office for Conservation of the Environment, unpubl. data; Table 1, Fig. 2a,b). Surveys during 2008–2011 reported scats and scrape marks in central Nejd but camera-trap de- ployments did not record leopards (Mazzolli & Hammer, 2008; Mazzolli, 2009; McGregor et al., 2011). However, DNA analysis of a single scat found in 2011 confirmed it to be that of a leopard (Mazzolli et al., 2013, 2017), and in 2014 camera-trap images confirmed the presence of leopards in the central Nejd (M1 and F1; Table 1, Fig. 2a; Al Hikmani et al., 2015). These findings prompted further surveys to determine whether leopards are resident in the area, or if their presence was a temporary expansion result- ing from individuals dispersing from known populations in the south. During 2015–2019, we conducted four unstructured
camera-trap surveys in the central Nejd (Table 1, Fig. 2a). On 20 February 2015, a female leopard (F1) previously re- corded in January 2014 in Wadi Amat (central Nejd) was photographed again. This female was also recorded on 20 March 2015, 25 March 2015 (with a 2–3 month-old cub) and 11 July 2015. The same female, now with an adult cub, was recorded further east in Wadi Ghadun in January 2017 (Plate 1). Another female (F2) was documented in the upper reaches of central Nejd in October
2017.Amale leopard(M2) was recorded inWadiMarweet in April 2017, and a different male (M3) inWadi Ghadun in August 2019. Genetic analysis of scats collected during 2014–2017 identified three individual leopards inWadi Amat (Al Hikmani et al., 2024b). During 7 January–8 December 2021, we conducted three systematic camera-trapping surveys in the Nejd to assess
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. Oryx, 2024, 58(6), 710–714 © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324001662
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