(CNN) -- One of the most elusive and endangered predators that roams the mountainous areas of the United Arab Emirates is the Arabian leopard. Its numbers have dwindled to a level below that of the Chinese panda.

But after years of trying, efforts to re-establish the species have begun to pay off with the birth of the country's first captive-bred Arabian leopard kitten.

The U.A.E, which lies between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, recently started a captive breeding program for the leopard and other endangered species, such as the Arabian wolf.

These animals have been pushed to the brink of extinction because of a universal problem: habitat loss.

"Goats took over the habitat and destroyed a lot of the vegetation," says Marycke Jongbloed of the Breeding Center for Endangered Arabian Wildlife. "Nowadays the leopard has to take goats to survive, and whenever he does that, he gets in trouble with the farmers and the hunters."

Getting the numbers needed for a successful breeding program may take some time: There are only 13 of the leopards in captivity, housed at just two facilities.

Nonetheless, the researchers hope to breed enough of the leopards to re-establish a wild population, and preserve the species for future generations.

Correspondent James Hattori contributed to this report.

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