Saving the Arabian leopard would fulfill a dream

In ancient times, three species of big cat roamed the Arabian Peninsula: The lion, the cheetah and the leopard. The lions left long ago. The last cheetah was shot by a hunter in 1973. Only the Arabian leopard remains. Thursday was declared the first Arabian Leopard Day as part of a growing campaign to save this species.

It is not too late, even though there are fewer than 50 Arabian leopards left in the wild in Saudi Arabia and it is classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. If we get this right — if we do for the leopard what has been done regionally for the Arabian oryx and elsewhere for the Amur tiger in Russia — it will be an amazing achievement. Not only will we have saved the leopard, but we will have created habitats in which it can thrive and so we will be pioneering a model for conservation efforts across the Arabian Peninsula.

I care so much about Arabian leopards because I work with them each day in my role as veterinarian manager for the Royal Commission for AlUla at the Arabian Leopard Breeding Center in Taif. The one thing that is essential for people to understand about the Arabian leopard is that this is a wild creature. Behind those emerald-green eyes is the mind of a cunning predator; our keepers must always be alert and on guard. We must respect the leopard’s untamed heart every single second.

Although the 16 leopards at Taif live in captivity, my hope is to see them, or their descendants, one day return to the open spaces in which they belong. Therefore, we keep the leopards to a schedule that mimics their habits in the wild. They exercise in the morning, rest from about 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., feed at about 3 p.m. (the more active they are, the earlier they eat) and then rest again. For one day a week, they fast, as would happen in nature when food was scarce. Further, interaction between the animals must be carefully considered. Leopards are largely solitary and can become combative when sharing turf. In the wild, adult leopards are together only for mating (a somewhat antagonistic period that lasts a few days and during which they might couple 100 times in a single day).

The RCU is doing what it can to return leopards to the wilds of Arabia, but we cannot do it alone. Grassroots support can make a big difference, which is why it is so important that, as part of Arabian Leopard Day, people signal their support by following #ArabianLeopardDay on social media. We are also reaching out to schools so that the next generation can come on board, and we are lighting up some of the region’s most famous buildings with our message.

Although the 16 leopards at Taif live in captivity, my hope is to see them, or their descendants, one day return to the open spaces in which they belong.

Abdulaziz Alenzy

In the years and months to come, we must build on the momentum from this inaugural Arabian Leopard Day. The RCU will be working with governments and wildlife administrators across the Arabian Peninsula to rebuild the leopard population. And we will continue to collaborate with conservation agencies such as Panthera and the IUCN to ensure that our methods reflect the latest findings from the field and that our structures reflect international best practice.

Meanwhile, on the ground at AlUla, our work proceeds. A ranger force is now patrolling our nature reserves. Our teams engage local communities so that this becomes a shared venture. And we are conducting research to inform how we restore vegetation and reintroduce prey species to build a fully functioning ecosystem in which the leopard can thrive. In all, the RCU has designated five nature reserves covering 12,500 sq km with a vision that, here in northwest Saudi Arabia, leopards might someday roam free once again.

It is a huge and difficult project. But it would be wonderful for the leopards and the land if we can succeed — if we can unleash the power of nature and pull this species back from the brink of extinction in the wild. This is the success story that I dream of telling my children and grandchildren.

• Abdulaziz Alenzy is veterinarian manager at the Royal Commission for AlUla.