A rare Arabian leopard was caught on camera in the Sultanate of Oman, The National newspaper reported.
The cat set off infrared cameras in the Dhofar Mountains north of Salalah, it said.
According to the report, the sighting is a boon for conservationists because the animal is one of the scarcest feline breeds on the planet.
Fewer than 200 Arabian leopards are thought to exist in the wild. The breed is on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list for animals at risk, it said.
Oman’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs told local media that the pictures had been collected by camera traps set by wildlife protection units in Dhofar.
Leopards have protected status in Oman. The penalty for hunting or capturing the critically endangered animals is a prison term of between six months and five years and a fine of 5,000 Omani rials, said The National.
