It is not every day you welcome the birth of a critically endangered animal, but for Saudi Arabia, it is good news. A female Arabian leopard cub has been born in Saudi Arabia; authorities announced on Tuesday.

The female leopard cub was born on April 23 at the Arabian Leopard Breeding Center in the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Wildlife Research Center in Taif and was checked by vets, who identified the animal’s sex, in mid-July. The leopard is the latest of 16 born as part of the captive-breeding program.

The Royal Commission for AlUla described the birth as an important step toward saving an endangered species and achieving the goal of rehabilitating local ecosystems.

The cub’s birth was announced by the Royal Commission for Al Ula and was established to protect the area, which is culturally substantial as well as being renowned for its natural history.

At present, there are 15 leopards at the centre in Taif, ranging in age from about 15 years to a pair of cubs born two years ago.

The number of Arabian leopards has been falling, all due to habitat loss, a decline of prey species and persecution and there are now thought to be fewer than 200 in the wild.

Classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the subspecies is found in the wild in Oman, Yemen and, possibly, Saudi Arabia. Earlier, it journeyed in mountainous areas of Ras al Khaimah and Fujairah as well as in various parts of the Arabian Peninsula and even the Levant.

But constant efforts and planning by the centre to reintroduce the creatures to north-west Saudi Arabia give hope that they could become more widespread in the wild once again.

The IUCN also plans to reintroduce the preys, including the Nubian ibex, a desert goat, and the Idmi gazelle, also known as the Arabian mountain gazelle.

The strategy is in line with the Saudi Green Initiative, which was launched this year, one of the aims of which is to establish 80 per cent of AlUla — a UNESCO World Heritage site, as a nature reserve.