Saudi Arabia Deepens Washington Ties With a Pair of Endangered Leopards

The Chinese government may have brought giant pandas to America, but now a different creature is coming to the National Zoo — the Arabian leopard, courtesy of the Saudi royal family.Washington will soon welcome a pair of the critically endangered cats with the help of a $51.6 million donation from the Saudi royals. Fewer than 120 Arabian leopards remain in the wild, and their transfer to America will launch a 15-year Smithsonian effort to pull the species back from extinction.The Saudi’s donation is the largest in the National Zoo’s history — more than doubling the $24 million American philanthropist David Rubenstein gave to support the zoo’s giant panda program in partnership with China.The practice of gifting living things has long been used to cultivate diplomatic ties. The Arabian leopard joins a tradition that includes Japan’s 1912 gift to Washington of more than 3,000 cherry trees and decades of Chinese pandas shuttling to foreign capitals.The Saudi funding will support exhibit construction, animal transport, conservation research, and dedicated scientific staff, the zoo said. Under the terms of the agreement, any cubs born at the National Zoo will be transferred to Saudi Arabia.Construction on the exhibit is set to begin this summer, with an opening targeted for 2029. The habitat will evoke the landscape of the Arabian Peninsula through “forms inspired by rocky outcrops, desert terrain, and wadi-carved landforms,” according to the zoo.Under the second Trump administration, relations between Washington and Riyadh have grown considerably. Last November, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman committed to investing nearly $1 trillion in American infrastructure and technology.

Saudi Arabia Deepens Washington Ties With a Pair of Endangered Leopards

Saudi Arabia Deepens Washington Ties With a Pair of Endangered Leopards

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