Central to efforts to bring back the Arabian leopard is the work of the Royal Commission for AlUla, and February 10 has been designated Arabian Leopard day.
The commission, which has national responsibility for bringing back the leopard, has created a fund with a $25 million endowment to promote conservation efforts and signed a 10-year, $20 million agreement with a US organisation called Panthera, which is supporting its efforts.
It’s all part of an initiative for the protection and conservation of the critically-endangered species.
Arabian Leopard Day was marked last year with classroom education, as well as social media outreach with the hashtag #ArabianLeopardDay.
Dr Stephen Browne, the commission's Wildlife and Natural Heritage executive director, said: “There are fewer Arabian Leopards left in the wild — about 200 — than there are spots on one leopard's coat — about 800. Regional co-operation is essential as we restore habitat, return native species to the wild and operate conservation-breeding programmes.”
“The second annual Arabian Leopard Day builds awareness today to influence actions tomorrow,” he added.
Whether the Arabian Leopard still exists at all in the wild in Saudi Arabia is uncertain. Previous estimates put the population in the country at about 50, but recent camera-trap surveys have failed to detect any.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, has assessed the Arabian Leopard as critically endangered since 2008, with current estimates that there are probably fewer than 200 adults in the wild.
“The Royal Commission for AlUla’s species conservation and habitat restoration initiatives are unleashing the power of nature's balance in north-west Saudi Arabia,” Dr Browne said.
Known in Arabic as Al Nimr Al Arabi, the Arabian Leopard has long represented beauty, tranquillity, physical strength and fearlessness in the kingdom. However, while they once roamed freely through the Arabian Peninsula, their population has now dwindled to small, scattered groups across Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen.
Dr Browne said the reintroduction of the Arabian Leopard, an apex predator, would be the crowning achievement of the regeneration project. It is planned for 2030.
Here are some fun facts about the Arabian leopard:
The Arabian Leopard is the smallest member of the leopard family. Its top weight of about 30kg is half that of its African cousin.
It arrived in Arabia almost 500,000 years ago when it emerged out of Africa, journeying via the Great Rift Valley to reach the mountains of northern Arabia where it made the land its home.
Originally it was a mountain animal but as desertification spread over a period of centuries, it became the only true desert leopard.
Historically its diet included the Nubian ibex, a type of mountain goat; the Arabian tahr, also a goat-like creature; the diminutive rock hyrax; and when these were not to be found it would eat partridges, hares, hedgehogs, beetles and even porcupines.
Unlike the cheetah that relies on speed, the leopard is a stalk-and-pounce predator. Its slender build with elongated body, short but powerful legs and very long tail, used for balance, make it the perfect hunter in the mountains where it stalks to within a few metres of its quarry before pouncing.
The black rosettes of its coat serve as camouflage, melting into the shadows as it pads along.
One of the earliest depictions of the leopard (500 BCE), in alabaster, is from the ancient Sabaean Kingdom, believed to be the biblical land of Sheba. It showed a leopard jumping down from rocks on to the back of an ibex.
Leopards from northern Arabia, or Arabia Petraea, caught the Romans’ attention and were among the first exotic animals brought to Ancient Rome to fight the bestiarii — gladiators trained in fighting wild beasts.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
