It is prohibited to hunt certain species of animals in Saudi Arabia, says SWA official. (SPA)

The Saudi Wildlife Authority (SWA) is working to save several endangered species found in the Arabian Peninsula including lions, leopards and ostriches.

This is according to Ahmed Al-Bouq, spokesman of the SWA, who said that animals were considered endangered if their numbers fall to less than 250.

The leopard has been found recently in neighboring countries including Yemen and Oman.

Al-Bouq said that criminals have been poisoning leopard deliberately in the Kingdom. Breeding programs have been set up with the King Khalid Wildlife Research Center and the Prince Saud Al-Faisal Center for Research on Wildlife. The latter has 10 leopards, he said.

He said it was prohibited to hunt certain species in the Kingdom including deer, mountain goats, wolves, lizards and hyenas. The SWA was also working with the defense, agriculture and municipal ministries to counter poaching, he said.

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