Rare leopards seen with prey in first-of-its-kind trail camera video in Oman
In the mountains of Oman, a critically endangered leopard climbed atop a rock formation and began to eat its latest catch. Another rare leopard walked around the base of the rocks. Nearby trail cameras recorded the entire scene.
It turned out to be a first-of-its-kind sighting.
Conservationists with the Arabian Leopard Project set up trail cameras throughout the mountains of Dhofar Governorate as part of their ongoing efforts to monitor the region’s leopards, according to a Sept. 23 news release shared via the Oman News Agency, a government entity.
Recently, while environmental officials were reviewing the trail camera footage, a few clips caught their attention. The footage showed a pair of Arabian leopards preying on a rock hyrax, officials said.
Rock hyraxes are “rabbit-like” mammals found in the Arabian Peninsula, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said. They have brown-gray fur, feet adapted for rock climbing and are the known prey of leopards, per the African Wildlife Foundation.
Oman’s Environmental Authority shared the trail camera footage via YouTube on Sept. 23. Warning: Some viewers may find the video content disturbing.
The video clips show an Arabian leopard tearing into the rock hyrax while perched on a rock. A second leopard passes nearby. Another video shows the leopard pulling its prey up from the ground, carrying it and eating it.
It’s unclear if the leopards were sharing the prey or if only one animal consumed the hyrax.
Officials identified the trail camera footage from the Dhofar mountains as the first time Arabian leopards had been seen preying on rock hyrax on video. They described it as a rare and exclusive glimpse into the lives of these animals.
Arabian leopards are critically endangered predators “facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild,” the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said in a May news release. “Fewer than 120 animals are estimated to survive in small, isolated groups in Oman and Yemen.”
Leopard conservation efforts in Oman have been ongoing for decades and aimed to protect the animals themselves as well as their natural habitat and prey, Omani officials said. The recent sighting provided encouragement to conservationists.
Dhofar Governorate is a region of southwestern Oman bordering Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the Oman News Agency and YouTube video from Oman’s Environmental Authority.
This story was originally published October 6, 2025 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Rare leopards seen with prey in first-of-its-kind trail camera video in Oman."
