Wild Arabia

Series one, episode two
Having passed via the desert dwellers in episode one, we arrive tonight at a mountain range between Yemen and Oman. Here, 1,000 metres above the Dhofar coast live the Jabali mountain folk, a rock hyrax that can stare directly into the sun and the Arabian leopard, known locally as the ‘living ghost’ because it’s rarely seen.

There’s some fascinating footage of the miraculously luscious rainforest left behind by the Indian monsoon as it passes over Dhofar in the summer, but an hour of Arabia can drag. Badgers scuttling in the night, for instance, will never match the amusement had in watching a male golden globe spider hopelessly fight off a bead of condensation. Still, in terms of wildlife watching, this is an area little visited. There are unique species to discover, both on land and in the ocean, and perhaps you’ll even get a glimpse of that mysterious leopard.