IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Mazzolli, M. | |
| Status of the Arabian leopard (_Panthera pardus nimr_) in Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman - Expedition report | |
| 2008 Full Book | |
The Arabian leopard _Panthera pardus nimr_ has disappeared from much of its former range on the Arabian Peninsula so that today populations are limited to the most remote areas. Previous Biosphere Expeditions studies in 2006 and 2007 have suggested the existence of a remnant population on the Omani side of the Musandam peninsula. The Musandam peninsula is located south of the Strait of Hormus at the entrance of the Arabian Gulf on the northeastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula and as such forms an exclave of Oman bordered by the United Arab Emirates. The leopard population on the peninsula was thought to be very small and the lack of evidence of two important prey species, namely the Arabian tahr and gazelle, and of the other top carnivore, the Arabian wolf, provided a clear picture of the conditions under which leopard numbers have declined. The killing of animals, habitat degradation and livestock and human disturbance were the main causes of decline. Following on from this work, this report details the surveys conducted by Biosphere Expeditions in January and February 2008 in the area limited by the wadis Amat and Uyun, located in northwest Dhofar in southern Oman. The location is on the Arabian leopard's northern distribution boundary in the Dhofar mountains, currently the last stronghold of the leopard in Oman. It is also where intensive studies on wild leopards are ongoing under the auspices of the Office for Conservation for the Environment, Diwan of Royal Court, including camera trapping and radio tracking of leopards. There was, however, a gap in the knowledge on the status of the leopard and its prey in the study area, and the mission of Biosphere Expeditions was to remove that information gap. The expedition surveyed the wadi floors, ledges, and ridgers for signs of Arabian leopard, its prey species, and other wildlife that could provide information on habitat quality. Nine potential signs of leopards in the form of scats were collected resulting in a frequency of 0.067 scats per kilometre, but no recent evidence of the Arabian leopard's presence was recorded. Interviews indicated that leopards were once encountered more frequently by herders and this finding supports the species' loss of range mentioned in the literature and is compatible with the expected higher vulnerability of species' along its distributional edge. In conclusion the report provides a number of recommendations regarding future research, capacity building, local community involvement, networking, information dissemination and compensation schemes which should be considered in order to provide the Arabian leopard with a chance to not only survive in Oman but to also re-colonise areas of its historical distribution range. |
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