Smithsonian’s National Zoo broke ground Tuesday for an exhibit that will feature the critically endangered Arabian leopard.
The exhibit is slated to open in winter 2029, National Zoo officials said in a press release. A breeding pair of the leopards will be sent from the Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Centre in Saudi Arabia in the hopes that cubs can be born at the National Zoo.
The zoo will also operate a live webcam to show the day-to-day activities of the leopards in their new habitat. Arabian leopards have not previously been shown outside the Arabian Peninsula, zoo officials said.
The Arabian leopard is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, meaning that it is close to going extinct in the wild, and living primarily through captive populations.
There are an estimated 120 animals left in the wild, zoo officials said, with the population suffering over time from hunting, habitat loss and depletion of prey.
The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), the governing body of AlUla governorate in Saudi Arabia’s Medina Province, operates the Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Centre and donated $51.6 million towards the exhibit and associated Arabian leopard conservation efforts. The governorate sits roughly 683 miles northwest of the Saudi capital Riyadh.
The RCU and National Zoo inked a 15-year partnership agreement in May 2025. Under the agreement, the leopards will be considered in RCU custody even though they are in the National Zoo’s care, and any cubs born to the breeding pair will be sent back to Saudi Arabia to support species recovery and reintroduction initiatives, zoo officials said.
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