Hadi Al Hikmani

• PhD Biodiversity Management
• Arabian Leopard Conservation Lead at Royal Commission for AlULA

In Asia, carnivore conservation is often focused on charismatic big cats. Opportunities to conserve the entire carnivore guild are frequently overlooked by channeling conservation and mitigation efforts into single‐species conservation. We synthesize experiences across Asia to explore these challenges and propose mitigations to maximize conservatio...

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 documented at least eight individual le...

Genetic diversity underpins evolutionary potential that is essential for the long‐term viability of wildlife populations. Captive populations harbor genetic diversity potentially lost in the wild, which could be valuable for release programs and genetic rescue. The Critically Endangered Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) has disappeared from mo...

The diorama “Lions Attacking a Dromedary” is notorious, not just as a remarkable 19th century example of taxidermy, but also its controversial representation of human culture and animals, its questionable accuracy and the murky ethics of the materials sourced for its construction. This study examines whether the diorama is a reasonable representati...

Biodiversity targets, under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework , prioritize both conservation area and their effectiveness. The effective management of protected areas (PAs) depends greatly on law enforcement resources, which is often tasked to rangers. We addressed economic aspects of law enforcement by rangers working in terrestri...

Little is known about the distribution of the sand cat Felis margarita thinobia in Oman.We report here the first confirmed records of this species from Dhofar governorate and update records for the country.

Aichi Target 11 committed governments to protect ≥17% of their terrestrial environments by 2020, yet it was rarely achieved, raising questions about the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework goal to protect 30% by 2030. Asia is a challenging continent for such targets, combining high biodiversity with dense human populations. Here, we evaluated a...

Camera trapping can detect and monitor rare species in landscapes spanning thousands of square kilometres but placement of cameras in areas where the animals most likely occur will increase detection success. This vital information is lacking for the critically endangered Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) that has undergone a 90% decline acros...

The Sultanate of Oman's governorate of Dhofar stretches from Salalah in the south, across the verdant pastures and woodlands of the monsoon mountains to the vast dunes of the Empty Quarter in the north. As well as being a place for wildlife it is a land of fascinating landscapes and is also home to people who, at least since the late Stone Age, hav...

In the Dhofar Mountains of Oman stakeholders are concerned about the social and ecological sustainability of pastoralism. In this study we used interviews with pastoralists to examine the prevailing drivers of pastoralism and how they are changing. We find that people are committed to pastoralism for sociocultural reasons but also that this commitm...

Despite its wide distribution, little is known about the breeding period or litter size of the caracal Caracal caracal schmitzi in Oman. We present here the first camera trap photograph of twin kittens in the wild.

The Arabian Gazelle, Gazella arabica, was once widely distributed in Oman, but its population decreased through illegal hunting and capture of the species. It is now found in small, isolated populations in the country, but little is known about the size and dynamics of these populations. In November 2014 we conducted a survey to estimate the densit...

As species become rare and approach extinction, purported sightings can be controversial, especially when scarce management resources are at stake. We consider the probability that each individual sighting of a series is valid. Obtaining these probabilities requires a strict framework to ensure that they are as accurately representative as possible...

Little is known about the current presence of the Arabian leopard Panthera pardus nimr in the Nejd region of Dhofar Mountains. We report here the first camera trapping records of this critically endangered subspecies in Wadi Amat. The northward draining valleys of the Dhofar Mountains, known as the Nejd, would once have been part of the range of t...

As species become rare and approach extinction, purported sightings can be controversial, especially when scarce management resources are at stake. We report a Bayesian model where we consider the probability that each individual sighting is valid. Obtaining these probabilities clearly requires a strict framework to ensure that they are as represen...

As species become rare and approach extinction, purported sightings can be controversial, especially when scarce management resources are at stake. We report a Bayesian model where we consider the probability that each individual sighting is valid. Obtaining these probabilities clearly requires a strict framework to ensure that they are as represen...

Evidence on Arabian leopard Panthera pardus nimr reproduction in the wild is very scarce. Very few records are available and most of them are of single Arabian leopard cubs. However, a camera-trap record of 8 February 2013, from Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve, was remarkable as it provided the first photographic record of twin Arabian leopard cubs in...

Unlike the African leopard Panthera pardus which largely lives on lowland and savannah areas in Africa, the Arabian leopard Panthera pardus nimr occurs mostly in high mountain regions in the Arabian Peninsula. It may have once lived in lowland areas in the region, but development and persecution by local people have probably pushed it up to highlan...

The purpose of this report is to publish and make freely available all scientific data collected by the British Exploring Society expedition to Oman, with the intention that this be used to further scientific understanding and conservation of this unique and vulnerable ecosystem, and facilitate Anglo-Omani scientific collaboration.

Abstract The Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) has disappeared from much of its former range on the Arabian peninsula. Its last stronghold is Oman’s Dhofar region. There is also a population across the border in Yemen, but this is highly threatened and needs much more study. The leopard enjoys legal protection in Oman. Long-term study, protec...

Between 1997 and 2000 a survey of the Arabian subspecies of leopard Panthera pardus nimr was conducted in the little known Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve in southern Oman. Using camera-traps 251 photographic records were obtained of 17 individual leopards; nine females, five males, two adults of unknown sex and one cub. Leopards were usually solitary...

and has not been recorded in the Musandam Governorate since 1997. However, it continues to survive through much of the Dhofar Mountains. The first significant step to conserve the Arabian leopard was taken in 1985 when the region’s first captive breeding group was established. Further important steps were taken in 1997 when Jabal Samhan, a part of...