Islamabad, Mar 7 (PTI) An Indian leopard that strayed into Pakistani territory was shot and killed by paramilitary troops in southern Sindh province, according to a media report today.
The leopard crossed the border and entered Datar Dino Jo Tarr village near Nagarparkar and attacked a herd of cattle and a number of villagers yesterday.
Local residents chased the animal and tried to kill it but it attacked them.
The leopard was then killed by Pakistan Rangers personnel, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Akram Jakhro, who went to the village after hearing that a leopard had entered the area, claimed the animal attacked herds of cattle and killed over 20 goats and sheep.
Villagers chased the animal and cornered it in a forest but shots fired by them only wounded the leopard.
The injured beast attacked and wounded several of them.
The villagers sought help from Pakistan Rangers deployed at a nearby picket and they killed the animal.
Bharu Mal Amerani, an activist working to protect and preserve wildlife and environment in the Thar region, expressed regret over the killing of the endangered leopard.
“People should have informed the wildlife department which could have taken measures to save the leopard,” he said.
However, assistant conservator Lajpat Sharma said there should not be any objection to killing a wild animal if it became a threat to people’'s lives.
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
Oh for heavens sake it's just a leopard, a human life is worth more. I doubt those people in the village had access to sedatives, so what were they supposed to do? Loose their livestock while waiting for animal control to arrive.
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
As Sarab said it’s just a leopard. I would like to add that Leopards have no country or any idea of human borders. Leopards are opurtunistic predators and thier loss of natural habbitat has led them to seek easy prey on livestock. They are powerfull big cats however and the Indian plains Leopards are more naturally suited to forests. Sindh obviously lacks the sort of terrian that we would associate as classic Leopard territory however they make good use of the sparse cover to feed on both wild and domestic goats.
The real tragedy is that the poor Leopard was doomed since the days humans cleared the forest which were it’s natural habbitats. As Sarab said the villagers had very little choice given the fact a non-native species was in the area and had become a threat to them…
In India the plains Leopards territory is dwindling and the Mountain Leopards have been long since pushed to extinction. In Pakistan the Plains Leopard and the Mountain Leopard are both protected species but the homeland of the Pakistani Leopards is also dwindling.
Good news is when I was last in Chitral I was among the lucky people who got a glimpse of the Mountain Leopard and the population is stabilisng in Chitral due to it’s remoteness. Popular culture in both countries often overlooks the Leopard but as a creature it is amazing.
A Leopard has the strength equivalent of one of us picking up a meal as big as our own body size and carrying it up to 50ft into a tree… that takes real power. You would not want to face a Leopard alone… I feel sorry for the Villagers and the Leopards. Both countries need to work together in conserving our animals and protecting them and our people.
As far as the Leopard was concerned it was not Indian or Pakistani it was simple a Leopard… of the Plains type.
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
So, when I looked at the main GS page, this is how this topic shows up:
[Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/all-views/487830-indian-leopard-that-strayed-in-to-pak-territory-shot-dead-post8089982.html#post8089982)
by **Faris Udeen**](http://www.paklinks.com/gs/members/faris-udeen.html)
So I liked to imagine that our resident hunter/warrior Mr. Faris, shot the animal dead in a noble attempt to save a terrorized village. I urge you to post again after this, so that you can claim the kill once again!
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
Partyslims this was just so damn funny man!
I’ve never killed a Leopard or any other big cat for that matter… and I dont really intend to either… being smart predators that are expert stalkers and ambush strategists I dont have the patience or the neccsary skill to go after such dangerous quarry. I have once seen a Leopard take out a Sloth bear, it just jumped and broke the back of the bear. Poor Sloth bear whirled in agony as the Leopard kept it’s distance then moved in to kill it when it was tired… I never thought Leopards would be strong enough to beat the ferocious Sloth Bear never mind eat one…
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
We are very fortunate to share a border with India from a wildlife point of view and very unfortunate that we have bad relations with one another. I am glad that wildlife can cross the border as it will give the dwindling Pakistani wildlife populations a better chance to survive.
One thing I appreciate about Indis is that it preserves its natural heritage and also gets many visitors because of it. The Thar desert does not just occur in Pakistan but also in India too. There are thousands of Asiatic Wild Ass, Nilgai, Chinkara on the India side but in Pakistan they might have somewhere between 2 - 20 Asiatic Wild Ass left and and probably Nilgai and Chinkara barely scraping triple figures in Thar.
They have wild Peacocks in Thar too. The only reason they have survived is because of the Hindu population. Peacocks once occured as far west as the Afghan borders in the North of Pakistan but now patches remain in Punjab and Kashmir.
One of the main reasons why Leopards and other predators have resorted to attacking livestock is because we have killed off their natural food. If we were nt into hunting and poaching then there would be plenty of natural prey items for the predators
Faris i think you have 2 separate species confused - you must mean the Snow Leopard and the Common Leopard. The Snow Leopard is found high up in the mountains up to 6000m high in the summer and can descend to 1500m in the winter to escape the snow and follow its prey. Common leopards on the other hand can occur from sea level to alpine pastures above the tree line - up to 3600m? Common Leopards can occur in any type of habitat from hot scorching deserts to cold montane forest. One thing they like is a place which gives them cover to hunt, rest and rear cubs. Common Leopards are found in Hingol and Thar which is very close to the sea level, the Margalla Hills, Galiyat as well as Forests of Swat Kohistan - all different ecological niches.
The Leopard was native to Thar but the locals must have driven them out or the Leopards left voluntarilydue to prey shortages.
I hope more and more wildlife crosses from India. One day Pakistan might start appreciating its natural heritage again.
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
**Indian police are holding a pigeon under armed guard after it was caught on an alleged spying mission for arch rivals and neighbours Pakistan, according to reports in local media. **
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
I have once seen a Leopard take out a Sloth bear, it just jumped and broke the back of the bear. Poor Sloth bear whirled in agony as the Leopard kept it's distance then moved in to kill it when it was tired... I never thought Leopards would be strong enough to beat the ferocious Sloth Bear never mind eat one...
I think you've confused tiger and leopard there ;)
Re: Indian leopard that strayed in to Pak territory,shot dead
How did they determine that it was an 'INDIAN' leopard? What if it was a Pakistani leapord who crossed into Indian side last night and crossed back into Pakistan side. I mean its not he was wearing a dhoti vs shalwar so you can tell which country that animal belonged to.
:k:
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Partyslims this was just so damn funny man!
