Leopard photographed in Yemen for the first time

The first ever image of a leopard in Yemen. Credit Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen.

Camera trap catches leopard in the Hawf Protected Area

Courtesy of The Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen (FPALY)
Anyone interested in learning more about the Foundation should write to contact@yemenileopard.org 

March 2011. On January 12th, researchers from The Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen (FPALY), Murad Mohamed and Waleed Al-Ra'il, succeeded in photographing a female leopard with one of the 12 trail cameras that they were operating in and around the Hawf Protected Area. By doing so, they have become the first people ever to photograph a wild Arabian leopard in Yemen. This is the most recent proof that Arabian leopards persist outside of Oman, and now that the existence of at least one leopard in eastern Al Mahrah Governorate has been proved, FPALY face the difficult task of bolstering protection of the area. Excitingly, on February 24th, another leopard was photographed in the same area, and proved to be a male. (see below). This obviously raises the possibility that they are breeding, and also that they mix with leopards from across the border in Oman.

Other species photographed - Caracal, wolf, hyena, genet and more
Among the species photographed in Hawf so far: Arabian leopard, Caracal, (possible) Gordon's Wildcat, Arabian Wolf, Arabian Red Fox, Striped Hyena, Honey Badger, White-tailed Mongoose, Small-spotted Genet, Rock Hyrax, Indian Crested Porcupine, and two species of as yet unidentified rodent. Among the numerous birds that our researchers have photographed have been Houbara Bustard and three species of Owl: Desert Eagle Owl, Hume's Tawny Owl, and Little Owl.

Researchers from The Foundation for the Protection of the Arabian Leopard in Yemen (FPALY), Murad Mohamed and Waleed Al-Ra'il, succeeded in photographing a leopard with one of the 12 trail cameras that they were operating in and around the Hawf Protected Area.

Three trail cameras stolen in Hawf - But returned
Leaving expensive trail cameras unattended in the wilderness puts them at risk so it was not totally unexpected when Murad Mohamed called to say that three of the Foundation's trail cameras had been stolen in the Hawf Protected Area. However, this story has a happy ending in that villagers tracked the thief and recovered the cameras in perfect working order where he had buried them. The fact that trail cameras automatically take pictures of any warm-blooded creature that passes in front of them helped the police in their investigation since the memory cards on all three cameras contained clear images of the thief in action.

FPALY are extremely grateful of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund which supports this crucial research and to Malini Pittet for training these two Yemeni biologists in trail camera research so effectively. A PDF of Malini's report from two months of camera trapping in Hawf is available by writing to contact@yemenileopard.org 

Male leopard caught on a camera trap on February 24th