National Wildlife Research Centre (NWRC) recorded the first birth of an Arabian tiger in captivity. The baby tiger is reported to be in healthy condition. The mother tiger was presented by Yemen to the Vice custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, the chairman of the board of directors of National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), in turn gifted to the program on breeding of Arabian tiger in 2000. The mother tigress, was introduced into the captivity breeding program in 2006. In 2007, she was paired with a male Arabian tiger at the NWRC in Taif. The male had been sent from the center for the Protection and Breeding of Endangered Animals of the Arabian Peninsula in Sharjah in Taif as part of a regional cooperation program to rebuild the populations of endangered animals. Prince Bandar Bin Mohammad Bin Saud, secretary general of NCWCD said Arabian tigers are among the rarest mammals in the Arabian Peninsula, where only 200 are available in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, making them the rarest wild animals in the world. He said Arabian tigers are killed by people who do not understand their importance in the environment.
