Adorable and incredibly rare triplet cubs born in Saudi Arabia. See ‘boisterous’ babies
After spending months watching them from a distance, a leopard breeding center in Saudi Arabia announced the birth of triplet cubs, a “major milestone” for the species.
The Arabian leopards, a critically endangered leopard subspecies, were born over the summer, according to a Dec. 11 news release from The Royal Commission for Alula’s (RCU) Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Center and Panthera, a wild cat conservation organization.
The litter includes two male and one female leopard, the organizations said.
“Carefully observed via CCTV so as not to disturb them, the cubs are already displaying distinctive personalities, with the two males proving to be particularly boisterous, climbing rocks in their enclosure and play fighting with each other,” RCU and Panthera said. “The female, on the other hand, is much shyer and more attached to their mother.”
According to available records, their birth marks the third Arabian leopard triplets to be born in captivity in the past three decades, the organization said, and the first triplet birth in Saudi Arabia.
Wildlife staff may watch the cubs through video, but all three babies have also had their first vaccinations and health checks, including the determination of their sexes, according to the organizations.
“Despite their young age, individual social behaviors are emerging between the cubs, with the males described by staff as ‘naughty, rough-and-tumble,’ while the female is ‘sweet and attentive,’” RCU and Panthera said.
Arabian leopards spend around a year and a half with their mothers, establishing a social hierarchy and learning to live with one another as they age, the organizations said.
The cubs also join some other new arrivals.
“The center has enjoyed something of a baby boom recently, with the triplets’ arrival coming less than a month after twin cubs were born on earlier in the year,” RCU and Panthera said. “The twins, one male and one female, are both attached to each other and to their mother, following her everywhere. They are growing and getting braver, spending the majority of their time hiding between rocks and playing together.”
The center now houses 32 leopards, nearly doubling their starting population of 14 in 2020.
Arabian leopards have been classified as critically endangered since 1996, with around 100 estimated to still live in the wild, RCU and Panthera said.
Seven leopards were born last year, and the center has welcomed five so far in 2024.
The animal care team uses cameras in order to limit the amount of human interaction the leopards have, with hopes that they can be reintroduced into the wild, Stephen Browne, vice president of wildlife and natural heritage at the center, said in the release.
“These efforts will ultimately lead to Arabian leopards once again roaming free in Alula’s protected nature reserves,” Browne said.
The Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Center is in west-central Saudi Arabia, just east of the Red Sea.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 2:06 PM with the headline "Adorable and incredibly rare triplet cubs born in Saudi Arabia. See ‘boisterous’ babies."
