the last lair of the empty quarter

CLUSTER I - THE DESERT

Although the camel is the first creature that may come to mind when one thinks of the desert, this vast and often harsh terrain is home to many other beasts. Rub’ al Khali, with an area of 225,000 square miles, is the largest contiguous desert in the world, covering most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula and parts of Oman, the UAE and Yemen. Aptly named the Empty Quarter, this is a place with little else but sand, rippling across with the wind and piling up as giant sand dunes. Despite the harsh environment, a variety of animals live here such as spiders, snakes, scorpions, sand foxes, oryz, gazelles, camels and birds. But the most surprising resident is the Arabian Leopard, a cousin of the African leopard and a highly endangered species. The Arabian leopard is a leopard subspecies native to the Arabian Peninsula. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 1996 as fewer than 200 wild individuals were estimated to be alive in 2006.

The Arabian leopard has been a symbol of strength, freedom and fearlessness and has been found in ancient rock art, mosaics and paintings over the centuries, cementing its position as a revered and respected animal in Saudi Arabia.