Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — The National Center for Wildlife (NWC) ruled out the possibility of bringing predators from outside the Kingdom to reduce the numbers of baboons, saying that it would destroy the ecosystem. “The center is working to protect and multiply local predators so that they can play their important role in restoring environmental balance and reducing excessive reproduction of some species,” the NWC said in a statement.

It noted that the studies, carried out by the center before launching the program to address the increasing numbers of baboons, dealt with all possibilities and alternatives, and the center has mechanisms to deal with them. The studies recommended stopping all types of direct and indirect feeding as an important part of addressing the problem. It is noteworthy that the NWC’s program to address the increasing numbers of baboons achieved outstanding results, as 103 hotspots and 18,000 monkeys were treated, through 36 field teams, as well as through the implementation of 86 traps.

In a statement on its X account, the NWC said: “Baboons are essentially innate creatures that obtain their food from wild nature, and any human interference in the creature’s way of living has negative effects on the environment.” In response to an inquiry about the possibility of bringing predatory animals from abroad and settling them for the purpose of environmental balance, the NWC stressed that releasing foreign animals into the Saudi environment causes serious damage because they may turn into non-native invasive organisms that affect local species and destroy the ecosystem.