www.gulfnews.com An expert on Arabian leopards is optimistic that in the near future the presence of this predator in the sultanate could draw a large number of tourists to Oman.
"The presence of Arabian Leopards in the south does have the potential to attract tourists," Hadi Bin Musalam Al Hakmani, who works as a Technical Assistant for the Arabian Leopards with the office of the Adviser for Conservation of the Environment, told Gulf News from Salalah.
He feels that there is tremendous scope for developing eco-tourism given the biodiversity of Oman and the interest in developing tourism opportunities.
However, Al Hakmani reckons that sighting a leopard in the dense mountainous area in the Jebel Samhan Nature Reserve in Dhofar region in the south of Oman is not easy.
"There are a number of Arabian Leopards inhabiting the area but it takes months and months to sight one," said Al Hakmani, who has come face-to-face with leopards in the area only three times in the last six years. And he spends months and months in the mountains tracking and clicking Arabian leopards.
Al Hakmani has just returned from a month-long survey in Musandam Peninsula, which is the northernmost part of Oman, to trace the possible existence of Arabian leopards in the region.
He reiterates that outside the southern region, Musandam was the only other area in the sultanate where there is a chance of occurrence of leopards.
Renowned biologist Dr Matthias Hammer led the team of UK-based Biosphere Expeditions to carry out the survey in the mountains of Musandam. Biosphere Expedition was set up in 1999 by Dr Hammer to promote sustainable conservation of the planet's wildlife and came to Oman at the invitation of the Office of The Advisor for Conservation of the Environment.
Hadi Bin Musalam Al Hakmani fixes a tracking device on an Arabian leopard in the Jebel Samhan Nature Reserve in Dhofar region in the south of Oman. |