Wildlife Campaigns: Saving the Common Leopard in Pakistan

‘Man-eating leopards still in Galliat’
* NWFP Wildlife Department lacks facilities to deal with the situation
Staff Report

LAHORE: There are three to four man-eating leopards in the Galliat area but the NWFP Wildlife Department lacks the facilities to kill them, Suhail Nasir Tehwar Ali Khan, a Pakistani hunter, told reporters at Lahore Press Club on Saturday.

Khan visited Galliat last month and killed a leopard in Aliabad. He had offered his services to the government to kill the remaining man-eating leopards. He said that leopards had killed six women, two children and a man in Galliat.

He said that he reached Aliabad in Galliat on July 13. The locals were fear stricken because a leopard had killed a woman a day earlier. He said that he explored the jungle with wildlife officials that night and found 15-16 leopards inhabiting various caves. He said that a leopard jumped on him when he moved closer and was shot dead by a rifle shot. He said that the NWFP Wildlife Department’s claim that man-eating leopards had been killed was false. He said that there were almost 150 leopards in the area and at least four of them were man-eaters.

Khan said that the government should help him kill the man-eaters. He said that he would go to Galliat again on Sunday to explore the area.

The hunter said that since 1984, the NWFP Wildlife Department had protected the leopards in the area but did not look after the provision of food for leopards. He said there were no jackals, monkeys, rabbits or other animals in the jungle that could feed the leopards.

He said that the leopards had come down the valley in search of food and had started attacking goats and other domestic animals. He said that they killed women who went to the jungle to cut grass and the leopard found them easy prey.

He said the leopards were unable to migrate to India during this year’s heavy snowfall. He said the fences on both sides of the border and the road from Aliabad to Nathia Gali had disturbed the area’s natural habitat. Khan said that the NWFP Wildlife Department had no facilities to fight man-eating leopards. He said that the department should form a team of veterinary doctors and use detachable cages, dart guns and a helicopter to hunt down these animals.

He said it was difficult to dart a leopard in the hilly area because a dart took two to three minutes to knock it unconscious and during this time it often jumps into a ditch. He said a helicopter was needed to reach the leopard immediately because the darts cause water to flow from its eyes and if the eyes were not creamed immediately, the man-eater could lose sight. Khan is the son of internationally famed hunter Tehwar Ali Khan who wrote many books including ‘Man-eaters of Sunder bun’, ‘Distress signal of Sunder ban’ and ‘Rouge Elephant of Chittagong’. Khan killed 11 man-eating leopards in East Pakistan.

Man-eating leopards in Thandiani: Community seeks safety measures
By Shoaib Ahmed

LAHORE: A series of atrocious killings of six women by leopards in Thandiani, Qalandarabad, Beran Gali, Bakot and Singal Kot have spread panic in the area.

The first incident took place in Qalandarabad on June 28 when a woman’s body was found in the woods with deep leopard claw wounds on her neck and kidneys while parts of her intestine were missing. Two days later (on June 30) bodies of Khurshida and Feroz Jan were found in Thandiani (Kala Pani) with broken legs and deep wounds on their necks. Locals also saw a leopard close to the bodies. The women had gone into the forest to cut grass.

The third incident took place on July 4 in Beran Gali (Kather). Sabina and her mother, Yasmin, were going home with fodder collected from the forest. Yasmin was 15 feet ahead of Sabina when she heard crows crowing loudly in the adjoining trees. She turned around and saw a leopard dragging Sabina into the bushes with her neck in his mouth. She ran behind the leopard, which dropped Sabina’s body and disappeared into the bushes.

Another incident took place on July 5 in Bakot (Molia) when Safira went to the forest with her father-in-law, M Afsar, to collect grass. Afsar said that he was about 20 feet behind Safira when a leopard attacked her. He said that she started shouting and the leopard fled when people gathered at the spot.

The last incident took place at Singal Kot (Khan Sare) on July 7 when a woman Azram went to the forest to collect vegetables. She did not return and her body was found next morning in the jungle. A leopard had eaten the internal parts of her abdomen.

A group of journalists from Lahore visited the leopards’ domain a few days ago. The trip was organised by the Forum of Environment Journalists, Punjab Chapter, in collaboration with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The journalists attended a meeting at Thandiani (Kala Pani) on August 11, which was organised by the NWFP Wildlife Department, WWF and the locals to discuss how to avoid human killings by leopards. The locals signed a bill of proposals at the meeting, demanding that the NWFP Wildlife Department and the WWF launch an awareness campaign to educate the Thandiani community on such issues. WWF Communication Head Amjad Aslam told Daily Times that common leopards become man-eaters when they lose their fear of human beings. He said most victims were women because they often go to the forest to collect wood and fodder.

Deputy Speaker Muhammad Yaqoob regretted that the NWFP Wild Life Department had done nothing to save the lives of innocent people.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?pa … 005_pg7_12

Killer Leopards May Still Be At Large
PESHAWAR – The authorities killed two leopards in the Hazara forest regions suspected of killing six women out collecting firewood and fodder. Hispathology tests conducted at Ayub Medical College on the animals’ digestive tracts, however, have not helped the authorities establish whether the animals were the real culprits or not.

The first accident took place on June 30, when an elderly woman ad her daughter-in-law were found in Thandiani. A day later, another woman met a similar fate in the nearby Beeran Galli. This was followed by two more months in Moolia village and Single Kot, respectively, on July 4 with a sixth victim being reported from Seri village on July 7. Except for one elderly victim’s body, all the others were intact.

None of the victims’ families, however, agreed to post-mortem examinations or autopsies before the burials. “One could hardly do such a thing as forest communities do not consider it appropriate to conduct an autopsy or disclose the cause of death if a woman is killed by a wild animal”, explains NWFP Chief Conservationer Dr Mumtaz Malik. To complicate matters, the locals were emotionally worked up against the wildlife department. “Initially, they held us responsible for the women’s deaths,” Malik maintains, “They believed we had set leopards free to help increase their population.”

According to wildlife officials, the common leopard or Panthera pardus was put up on the list of protected animals some 30 years ago when it was believed to be on the verge of extinction. In 1984, the government established Ayubia National Park to provide a secure habitat to the animal. “This park proved to be a successful experiment as the number of leopards increased substantially,” claims Malik. He believes that the attacks are a new phenomena that were probably caused after the leopards moved from the national park to the adjacent forest. “Once their numbers grew, they dispersed towards nearby corridors which have human settlements,” Malik observes.

The department is reluctant to conclude that leopards that killed the women were man-eaters. Instead, it believes that they may have started attacking humans in response to a loss of habitat. During recent years, a large number of the monkey population shifted from the forest to areas close to human settlements and roads, speculates an official. The monkeys have been gradually lured into the areas as the number of tourists feeding them has increased. “This has caused a tremendous change in their behavior,” Malik says. “The monkeys want to live close to humans and thus their predators, the leopards, are forced to follow suit.”

In response to the killings, the department arranged a hunt. The first of the two animals was gunned down on the night of July 9 by police commandos in the Seri area close to where the sixth victim was discovered. A private hunter from Lahore killed the second leopard on the night of July 13 in Bakot. Officials claim that the department arranged the private hunter for the second animal after the police wanted to keep the skin of the first alleged predator.

The first of the two wild cats was said to be a 15-year-old, 75 kilogramme male, whose body length was seven feet and seven inches and height at the shoulders was 33 inches. The second leopard was a four-year-old female about five feet and seven inches along and 23 inches tall. As the first leopard was killed barely a day after the last victim was found, a wildlife official contends that its stomach would still contain traces of human remains. “But the digestive system of neither animal contained human remains such as hair, bones or flesh,” the official explains. Instead, the male leopard’s stomach had mud with grass fibres and vegetable material while the female leopard’s stomach contained monkey hairs.

These investigations would appear to support the theory that the two hunted leopards may not be the animals that killed the villagers. However, as the bodies of the victims were intact and only one body was mauled, it would be difficult to reach this conclusion based on an analysis of the animals’ stomach contents alone.

Meanwhile, in view of the growing population of common leopards, the NWFP wildlife department is considering removing them from the list of protected animals and placing them on the schedule of game animals for trophy hunting. Wildlife conservationists and local communities are, however, opposed to the proposal. – I.A.

This article was printed in the August 2005 issue of the monthly Herald.

Herald - http://dawn.com/herald/index.htm

Leopards can change their spots
By Dr. Ali Jan

Murree and the Galiyat areas lie at the foot of the Himalayas in Pakistan on an alpine hill tract. They comprise a number of settlements that were established by the British as summer hill-stations for their families to escape the heat of the Indian plains. The region's forests abound in all kinds of fauna and flora. Recently, the news of a leopard turned "man-eater" in the Galiyat region drew extensive publicity.

According to reports, a leopard attacked and killed six women in Bakot village located few kilometres from Abbotabad in just one week. Afterwards, the wildlife agencies liaising with a commando police force somehow managed to trap it. However, the endangered animal's rise to fame as "Pakistan's first man-eater leopard" ended abruptly when it was slain by a police constable who riddled its body with 15 bullets whilst it was still in a cage.

Air Marshal (retd) Ayaz Ahmed Khan, a resident of Nathiagali, in a newspaper article once wrote: "There has never been a report during the last 50 years of a leopard attacking a human being. The leopard in its distinct black and white spotted skin is on the run from its most dangerous predator the man."

Indeed, deforestation and encroaching urbanization of the forests the native habitat of the leopards and scarcity of its natural prey are mainly to blame for a situation when an animal might turn man-eater. Otherwise, according to experts, it is a very rare occurrence. Unlike other related big cats, leopards are naturally shy animals. Being nocturnal in their habits, they hunt smaller animals such as jackals, dogs, monkeys and occasionally cattle in the wilds of the Galiyat.

In India and Bangladesh, ghastly tales of man-eating tigers are not uncommon. Leopards seldom feature in such stories. However, the gripping novel The Man-Eating Leopard of Rudraprayag by legendary Irish hunter Jim Corbett is a hair-raising account of the pursuit of one such elusive animal that had claimed more than 125 lives in the Upper Provinces of India in early '20s.

When I inquired about the species of leopard found in this region, Nausherwan Ahmed, a nature enthusiast who runs the largest country specific website on wildlife (www.wildlifeofpakistan.com) explained: "According to the new classification there are mainly two types of leopard species found in southern parts of Pakistan. The leopard found on the west of the Indus is known as the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolour) and on the west of it is called the 'Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) which is the species commonly found in Murree and the Galiyat region. Older terms for the subspecies 'Kashmir leopard' ( P.p.millardi) and 'Sindh leopard' (P.p.sindica) are no longer taken into account."

Many people erroneously refer to leopards as sher (lion, in local dialect). Whereas, others often inaccurately confuse them with snow leopards or cheetahs. The snow leopards are also a threatened species surviving on the snow-peaked mountains of the Northern areas of Pakistan, often living at altitudes of 10,000 feet and above. On the other hand, the Indian cheetah that was commonly reared by the Mughals and Nawabs in old times to accompany their royal hunts has now become extinct in the subcontinent.

There have been many instances of leopard sightings in Murree. Last year, I personally witnessed a leopard on the Jheekagali-Kuldana- Kashmir Point hiking track in Murree hills. Signboards were later placed on nearby trees to warn hikers. On a recent visit to the same spot, the leopard roar was heard again and fresh paw prints in the mud were observed as well. Although there have been no reported leopard attacks on humans in Murree hills yet, but as prudent practice the hikers in the forests should walk in groups as opposed to being alone. One should be specially careful when there are women and children around because the behaviour of the leopard that attacked six women at Bakot, showed a tendency towards attacking lone females only which, in a lighter vein as an uncle of mine puts it makes it more of a "woman-eater" and not a true man-eater.

Last winter I learned about a leopard cub that had strayed into a villager's house in Murree and died afterwards. The following version was narrated to me by the locals: "In Jan 2005, Bakhtawar of Kuldana Murree, heard some noise in the night coming from the animal shelter. It was in the shed which is the size of a small room where they tie up their cattle at night. (One or two cows and few goats). The next morning the children who opened the door discovered an animal lying in a corner. Taking it to be a dead domestic cat they called the adults. The parents discovered that it was a leopard's cub. Their neighbours gathered and also some army men who were engaged in removing snow from nearby houses arrived on the scene to examine the animal. Unable to report the incident to the authorities due to excess snow blockades Bakhtawar at first decided to bury the animal but a neighbour requested him to give it to him instead. The same neighbour took pictures of the dead leopard cub and then later on decided to preserve its hide before it got decomposed."

Intriguingly, the neighbour who skinned the animal told me that the animal's ribs appeared to have been broken. He could not explain why. Moreover, many neighbours reported hearing a leopard roaring close to their homes in the following days. They suspected it was the mother who was looking for her cub. The news about the death of any endangered animal whether natural or caused by man is always disturbing. In the interest of all, these animals should be driven back into their own special reserves so there is minimal contact with humans and unfortunate events like the tragic death of six women at Bakot and needless killing of leopards due to game-hunting and poaching can be avoided in the future. It is important to realize that the most important tool to conserve valuable ecosystems and biodiversity of the considered region is transfer to sustainable development.

Enjoining upon us to preserve these beautiful leopards Air Marshal (retd) Ayaz Ahmed Khan quite rightly suggests: "Leopard spotting, viewing by binoculars photographing and feeding would be interesting and a good sport. Killing and gunning down this beautiful animal is criminal. The few leopards in Pakistan deserve attention, because their survival is threatened."

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/dmag/dmag8.htm

They are killing the leopards
By Kosar Naqvi & Kamal Siddiqi
07/28/2005
DONGA GALI: The local Wildlife Department office at Donga Gali, one of the several hill points on the road from Murree to Abbottabad saw an unusual number of visitors earlier this month.

None of them, however, were coming to see the collection of stuffed animals and wildlife on display in the museum that forms part of the office. Instead, all were collecting to see the carcass of a leopard, barely an adult, which lay in the foyer.

On public demand, wardens brought the carcass outside in the lawns where groups of people, many of them locals and some tourists gathered to have pictures taken with the dead leopard.

Two leopards have been shot in the space of a week. The first one, so old that some of its claws and teeth were missing, was shot while in a cage because its keepers panicked. The second leopard was also shot in haste. Renowned hunter, Sohail Dawar Ali Khan, who was invited by wildlife officials to track the man-eater behind the deaths of seven women, was surprised by its sudden appearance and shot it down in pitch darkness at Aliabad, a village where the most recent mauling by a leopard had taken place.

Now medical reports have confirmed what most suspected all along: that both leopards were not man-eaters as there was no trace of human tissue in their stomachs. This disclosure means that two leopards, who could otherwise have been saved and are now dead and that a man-eater remains on the loose.

This is not comforting news to villagers of the area who are frightened by the manner in which the leopards have started attacking humans over the past few months. Leopards have killed six women in different parts of the area. The death of one woman is disputed as she died from falling off a cliff. Locals say that she was running from a leopard.

It is the women who go into the forests to collect firewood and now they are scared to do so. The women that have died left behind families, in most cases small children. The people of the areas where these attacks have occurred live in fright especially in night-time when there is no electricity and the pitch-dark atmosphere encourages the leopards to attack.

Many ask why do the leopards want to attack humans now when such incidents have not happened with such persistence in the past? These cats have been around for some time now. In the early nineties, when their numbers were dwindling, the government introduced some more into the wild. Some officials claim that their numbers have increased significantly. But the attacks are a new phenomena. It seems that some balance has been upset that makes these cats find human prey.

One recent development has been the surge in tourist arrivals in the Galiyat as well as rapid urbanization. Hundreds of small and medium apartment schemes have started all over the Galiyat and the number of people setting up home here is unprecedented.

The confusion about the leopards is propounded by the fact that the local populace insists on calling them cheetahs, which they are not. The district forest officer at Donga Gali, Safdar Ali Shah, says that the leopards that have been killed and those suspected of attacking humans are both common leopards that are indigenous to this area. But there is little he can offer as to why they have started attacking humans.

Shah’s theory is that the number of leopards in the area has increased significantly in the past decade or so. Figures vary from 60 to 250. There are too many of them and there just isn’t enough food for all of them. Thanks to rapid urbanization, even the monkeys - which are plentiful in this area, have gravitated towards the populated areas because people offer them food. Now the leopards are following suit.

SDPO Abdul Hafeez who is one of the "police commandoes" assigned the task of tracking the man-eating leopards has his own theories. According to him, the killings of the women were not done by one but by different leopards. He also says that the range of the leopards is so vast that it is difficult to track them down.

Amongst all this confusion over leopard numbers, there is a consensus emerging over the need to cull the leopard population. This will invite all sorts of hunters and amateurs running after a number of leopards whose number have yet to be verified. This is a frightening possibility.

Some wildlife officials also point towards trophy hunting - with the people of area sharing in the proceeds as has been done in the case of the Markhor in some other parts of the country. The government, however, continues to drag its feet on the issue with both villagers and hunters getting impatient. Some feel that a couple of more deaths in the Galiyat will open the doors to widespread killing of the leopards - a thought that makes any wildlife lover and conservationist shudder.

Proposal for leopard trophy hunting
07/26/2005
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, July 25: The provincial environment department is considering a wildlife directorate proposal to introduce leopard trophy hunting in the Galliat region, according to official sources.

The proposal, which calls for leopard trophy hunting on the pattern of the markhor trophy hunting, has been put forth in view of the danger posed by the swelling number of leopards in the region.

Wildlife conservationists are opposed to the plan which was laid out after leopards mauled to death six women in Mansehra and Abbottabad districts.

Dr Mumtaz Malik, chief conservator of the wildlife directorate in the province, told Dawn that the proposal was still in the conceptual stage and a final decision would be taken later by the government.

The population of leopards – once designated as an endangered species – has been growing since 1984 when wildlife authorities introduced measures to protect wildlife habitat in the Galliat region of NWFP.

As part of these measures it established Ayubia National Park over some 4,000 acres of forest land. The park area was later increased to 8,000 acres, according to official sources.

According to conservative estimates, the population of the ‘common leopard’ in the Galliat region has doubled in the last five years from 10 to 15 animals to some 30 to 40 animals.

“If introduced, leopard trophy hunting would entail dual benefits for the local communities as it would help them earn foreign exchange as well as lower the threat posed to human life,” said Dr Malik.

However, conservationists belonging to the Hazara region said that the trophy hunting plan was ‘ill-conceived’ and could easily aggravate the threat to leopards.

Wasi-ur Rehman, a conservationist and representative of a local community organization, said that leopards were still an endangered species and trophy hunting would only expose the animal to a greater threat.

The common leopard, known also as Panthra pardus, was listed as a protected species more than 20 years ago and the government of the day outlawed hunters and poachers from shooting or poisoning the animal.

“If the government decides to introduce leopard trophy hunting, then the common leopard would be placed on the schedule of game animals,” said Dr Malik.

According to him, leopard trophy hunting has the potential to turn the fortunes around of people in the Galliat region because the sport would attract the interest of local and international hunters.

“People spend Rs900,000 to Rs1 million to hunt leopards in Africa. Raising $5,000 from a single leopard here should not be a problem,” said Mr Malik, adding that poverty-ridden communities had much to gain from the trophy hunting experience.

TRAPPING ANIMALS: On the request of zoo managements in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, the NWFP wildlife directorate will set traps for three leopards in the Galliat region.

Directorate officials have started preparations to capture the animals in fulfilment of requests put forth by the managements of three zoos.

The directorate is building some six more cages - in addition to the two it already has - to trap the animals.

Cages will be placed at points between national parks and human settlements in the Galliat region

http://www.dawn.com/2005/07/26/nat44.htm

Leopard killed in Abbottabad was not a man-eater
07/23/2005
Bureau Report

PESHAWAR, July 22: Laboratory tests on one of the two leopards shot dead following killing of six women in attacks apparently carried out by wild animals in Abbottabad have failed to establish any link between the attacks and the beast, official sources here said. The six women were killed while collecting fodder in what was assumed to be attacks by leopards in the forest area of Abbottabad between June 30 and July 7.

The wildlife department officials told Dawn that families of none of the six victims agreed for post-mortem. Except for the last victim, who was killed in Seri village on July 7, none of the bodies was mutilated.

“Though we did not inspect the body, people of Seri village had said that the leopard had eaten up parts of the woman’s body,” said a senior official about the July 7 victim.

Following increase in the incidents of leopard attacks on women collecting fodder in forest areas, two common leopards, belonging to the family Panthra pardus, were gunned down — one by the department on the night of July 9 and the other by a private hunter, arranged by the department, on the night of July 13.

The department had sent viscera, including intestinal contents of the two animals to the Ayub Medical College for histopathology test and microscopic examination to establish whether these were responsible for the death of the six women.

“Histopathology report of the first of the two leopards could not establish that it was a man-eater,” said Dr Mumtaz Malik, chief conservative of the wildlife department, on Wednesday.

The first leopard was a 15-year-old male, while the second, aged three to four years, was female.

According to official sources, the length of one leopard was seven feet and seven inches. It had a height of 33 inches and weighed about 75kg.

The other leopard was five feet and seven inches in length, while its height was measured at 23 inches.

The wildlife department officials said that laboratory tests of viscera did not reveal that the leopard killed on July 9 had eaten human flesh.

“Neither the stomach nor the intestine of the leopard contained human remains. It cannot be said with authority that it had eaten any of the six women killed,” said an official.

According to him, the last of the six victims was killed on July 7 in the Seri area of Abbottabad, whereas, the first leopard was gunned down on the night between July 9 and 10 in the same area by police commandos and wardens of the wildlife department.

The official contended that neither the post-mortem of the animal nor the microscopic examination of its stomach and intestine had established that it had attacked and killed the women.

“The digestive system of the animal does not contain human remains like hairs, bones or flesh,” he added.

According to him, the stomach of one of the leopards contained traces of mud with grass fibres and vegetable material, while the other’s (female’s) stomach contained monkey hairs.

The microscopic examination also did not show any human parts.

The report contained that no human contents were identified either by the naked eye or through microscopic examination”.

The chief conservator said the Ayub Medical College had advised DNA testing to determine whether these animals had attacked and killed women.

However, the idea did not get the support of the wildlife department. “The DNA test takes too much time and costs too much, we are not going for that,” said a wildlife department official.

Tests negate Wildlife Dept’s claim of man-eaters
07/21/2005
By Kosar Naqvi
ABBOTTABAD: The ‘Histopathology’ report of both the leopards gunned down following killing of six women in different parts of Abbottabad district has negated the claims of Wildlife Department that the leopards were man-eaters.

"No human tissue have been found or parts identified in the specimen received," informed Prof Dr Fazale Raziq, head of pathology department of the Ayub Medical College while talking to The News here on Wednesday.

According to the report of pathology department, they received stomach and intestines of leopards having three containers. The cut section of the stomach of one of the leopards shows mud with grass fibres and vegetable material. Microscopic examination also did not show any human parts. The one page report stated, "No human contents were identified on naked eye examination or microscopy", the report said. The wildlife authorities, if desire, may go for DNA, the report suggests.

Earlier, the Wildlife Department had sent the stomach and intestines of both the leopards after autopsy to Ayub Medical College for Histopethology tests to determine if they were the same bloodthirsty animal that reportedly killed six women in different incidents.

The department has announced "hunting trophy" of these leopards in the forest of Abbottabad." We have proposed the high-ups for the introduction of hunting trophy scheme for common leopards in this part of this area," disclosed divisional forest officer wildlife Abbottabad, Syed Safdar Ali Shah while talking to The News in Dunga Gali other day.

The mystery of killing of at least seven women in the forests of Abbottabad and Mansehra within last two weeks has yet to be resolved, as the Forest Department claims that common leopards have killed them while locals have different point of view.

Pics of the Leopard killed in Galliat area
07/18/2005
Here is an update on the situation with the problem of man eating leopards in Pakistan. As mentioned before two leopards have been shot by the Wildlife Department. Sadly, none of the two turned out to be man eaters as reported by the news report yesterday in The News. Now the Wildlife Department is introducing Trophy Hunting program to hunt these cats. Mr Wassi Ur Rehman (Organizer,Dubran Welfare & Conservation Society, Dubran DISTT. ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN) has reported more than 6 common leopards have been killed in the mountains around Haro River, in a radius of only 50 Km. in the last 6 -8 months. These include the recently killed two leopards by The Wildlife Dept. NWFP. I request you to please join hands in stopping this before its too late. Please forward this news to as many people as you can.
Regards,

Nausherwan Ahmed
www.wildlifeofpakistan.com

Another leopard killed in Abbottabad
07/16/2005
ABBOTTABAD, July 15: Personnel of the wildlife department shot dead another leopard in Aliabad village near Donga Gali late on Saturday night. Syed Safdar Ali Shah, DFO wildlife department, told journalists that the entire Galyat belt, including Thandiyani, had been divided into sectors to hunt down the predators, which had so far killed six women.

A team comprising two experts and two wildlife officials lured the cat into a forest area and sprayed it with bullets. The animal also attacked the officials before it was shot dead.

Earlier, police commandos had shot dead a leopard near Bakot on July 11 where a woman had been killed by the beast.

The DFO said that the wildlife department had placed cages at different parts of Galyat to lure the animals, which were blamed for fatal attacks on women.

He said that it was a female leopard of two years age.—Rashid Javed

Police shoot killer leopard dead
07/12/2005
PESHAWAR, July 11: Police commandos on Monday shot dead a leopard which reportedly killed six women in northwestern Pakistan, officials said. They lured the leopard into a forested area with a caged goat and then sprayed the cat with bullets when it fell for the trap, said Feroz Shah, a senior poli

ce officer in Abbottabad.
“Police commandos fired 15 bullets to kill the leopard,” Shah told AFP.

The big cat was killed about 200 yards (metres) from the spot where it was thought to have mauled a woman on Friday, he said.

“We are 100 per cent sure it is the same leopard,” Shah said, without specifying how.

The leopard was blamed for fatal attacks on six women who had gone to collect firewood from the mountainous region during the last two weeks.

Shah said the authorities dispatched the commando team over the weekend to hunt down the animal and also warned people to stay away from the forest.

Villagers shot dead two leopards in Abbottabad
4/16/2005
ABBOTTABAD: Another leopard was shot dead here by the villagers in two days that had created panic in the surrounding hilly areas of the Abbottabad, as these wild animals are freely moving in the city area
in search of food.

Residents of village Treheri, Qalandarabad, 10 kilometres from Abbottabad, killed a leopard after it attacked four persons and was hiding in the kitchen of one Muhammad Akbar on Thursday evening.

All the four injured, Niaz, Muhammad Aslam, Taj Muhammad and Ghulam Haider were admitted to the Ayub Medical Complex. Leopard attacked Niaz Muhammad when he was fetching water for his cattle. On his shouting, villagers came and saved him.

Leopard after attacking three others entered the house of Akbar and was hiding in the kitchen where people locked it and were waiting for the Wild Life officials and police.

The leopard, however, after smashing the window was trying to escape when the villagers shot him dead as the animal would have become more dangerous. Both the incidents occurred in the jurisdiction of Mirpur police station. First incident took place in Banda Jalal Khan, adjacent to Jhangi Saydan, which is thickly populated area of the
city, where residents killed leopard after it attacked one Irshad in thickly populated area of the city on Wednesday.

ABBOTTABAD: Leopard killed in Banda Jalal
4/15/2005

ABBOTTABAD, April 14: A leopard was shot down on Wednesday in a thickly populated at Banda Jalal Khan area of the city by a villager, Irshad, who had been attacked by the beast.

According to the wildlife officer, Khursheed Abbasi, the female leopard was one and half years old and had come to the city area from its forest abode five kilometres away. These leopards are normally found in the forests of pine trees. The wildlife department staff rushed to the place after receiving the information from Rescue-15, but before they reached there the leopard had been killed.

The wildlife department's team shifted the carcass to Peshawar for decomposition and its skin would be put on display at the Pakistan Forest College Peshawar or at the Wildlife Museum. This was the third incident of its kind in the city in the last three years.

Just to add a little, the source of the news related to killing of leopards, one each in Machiara National Park, and other around Ayubia National Park, is WWF-Pakistan which is working in both these areas.However, relevant Wildlife Departments are fully aware of it, and are involved in further investigations. DFO(Safdar Ali Shah) of ANP, and Director Wildlife,AJK are the key sources of information along with Mr. Waseem,from WWF Nathia gali and Mr. Khurshid Ahmad, Education and communication specialist fromTA Team of WWF, Muzaffar Abad

The leopard of Machiara, as reported by the news papers also, was found dead near a village, called Kopra, Serli Sacha Union Council. This is one of the 3 Union councils located in and around Machiara National Park. Reportedly, the leopard entered the village and got killed. No one has yet been found doing it. Investigations are still going on.

Leopards are seen in the Jhelum valley, especially in the pine zone and also get killed by herders, though not as frequent as we get them these days in Galliat.About 3 years ago, the AJK Wildlife Department got a hunter fined. The amount ,he paid was Rs.41,000/- another was killed early this year near the line of control

A leopard was killed a few days earlier(almost same day) near Nathia gali also.It was shot dead but no one has yet been detected doing it.

I am sharing a few photos of the killed leopards at both the sites with members.

Moving towards solutions - WWF Response
25 July 2005
http://wwfpak.org/25-07-05solutions.php
With reference to the recent leopard-man conflict in Galliat and Thandiani surrounding areas, where such incidents happened, WWF - Pakistan visited the affected areas and held consultations with local influential and officials of the NWFP Wildlife Department. Based on these meetings, certain conclusions and a line of action were drawn. In the aftermath of these incidents, WWF – Pakistan is following the developments in these areas and is constantly in touch with the concerned departments to ascertain a more viable solution for handling this situation.

Mr. Ashiq Ahmad Khan, WWF – Pakistan's Chief Technical Advisor, along with his team is still present on the site of worst hit area and below is his findings:

The available evidences suggest that the leopard was responsible for killing of 6 women in Galliat and Thandiani.
It was found out that the shooting down of the leopard by the NWFP Wildlife Department was in line with the law, hence was a legal action. Although the Act does not mention leopard specifically but gives freedom to individuals of killing a wild animal if it is a threat to people's life or property.
WWF – Pakistan has intervened in this matter as it wants to develop a rationale between the rights of people to live safely and necessary survival of leopard in the surroundings.
WWF – Pakistan is finding a viable solution to secure leopards in the Protected Areas and also increase the area of the Protected Areas.

WWF – Pakistan has offered to organise an assembly for the affected community and relevant stakeholders for reaching a formula that will respect the right of people to survive and also respect the right of species to exist in viable numbers. The community of Kalapani and the Wildlife Department has agreed to the suggestion while the participation of relevant Ministers, MPA's, local leadership, District Administration and representatives of other affected families/villages has yet to be ascertained. The tentative date for holding the assembly is August 11, 2005.

WWF - Pakistan will still want to undertake following activities in case the plan for holding an assembly does not materialise:

Awareness Raising Campaign : It will be focused on reducing the fear and restoring sympathies of people for leopards, which has been almost lost after the killing incidents.

Field Studies: It will record sighting, habitat and food assessment, depredation data and other information that may contribute to formulating a carnivore policy by the Government and are used in awareness campaigns.

Advocacy/lobbying: It will be done to secure the rights of the people to live in safety and peace from leopards yet protect wildlife, especially leopards against unjustified killings.

Trainings for women: They will be carried out to train women in avoiding attacks when out in the forests.
WWF – Pakistan will issue a press release soon after the assembly is held or its date changed or cancelled.

For further information:
Amjad Aslam, WWF – Pakistan,
Ferozepur Road, Lahore.
UAN: 111-WWF-PAK(993-725)
Tel: +92 42 5862360, 5869429,
Fax: 042 5862358,
e-mail: aaslam@wwf.org.pk

E-mail from Mr. WASSI-UR-REHMAN Organizer, Dubran Welfare & Conservation Society
Dubran DISTT. ABBOTTABAD, PAKISTAN regarding the killings of Leopards
delivered to www.wildlifeofpakistan.com

Dear friends, & Respected Dignities,

A.O.A,

Thanks for your response to my mails. Here are a few lines for your consideration and a request to save the wildlife of Hazara div. and its forests.

Why Leopards Are Killed

The leopard is the only animal which is found in almost every forest of Hazara including Margalla and Muree Hills. Different families of leopards are reported to be seen in the surroundings of Haro River in the following forests.

a) Sarla Reserved Forest: 2 Leopards

b) Margalla Hills Park: 3-4 Leopards

c) Kohala Lassan Reserved Forest: (Siribang area 2 Leopards, Dubran Area 3-4 Leopards, Massah Gojari
Area 1-2 Leopards

d) Baroha Bharakahoo Area : 2 Leopards (reported killed)

e) Satoura and Rahi Area : 2-4 Leopards

f) Ayubia National Park and Muree Hills: 15-25 Leopards.

g) Havelian Cantt. Area: 1-2 Leopards.

Now the question arises that why these animal enter the residential areas, grazing lands, grass fields and roadside areas? The answer is very simple “Shrinkage of Habitats and presence of Privately Protected Forests near the villages and roads in community owned area.”

Causes Of Habitats Shrinkage:

a) Fuel Wood: The fuel wood pressure has reduced the reserved forests to minimum and compelled the locals to
grow their own trees and bushes to fulfill their needs.

b)    Over Grazing: The reserved forests are also destroyed by the grazers. Especially the nomads from the cooler
       areas come down to these forests in the winter. They stay in the reserved forests along with their
       herds/folks of livestock. They poison the wild animals themselves and also provide this poison to the locals.

c) Smugglers: The timber smugglers have played their part in vanishing reserved forests and Guzaras.

d)    Deliberate Fires: Residents of these areas mostly depend on livestock; therefore grass fodder is one of their
       necessities. To get better grass they have to clean the leaves of pine, bushes, and remaining grass of the
       last season, they burn the area with out controlling the fire in dry Fire Seasons. This unattended fire spreads

all over the area and burns every thing.

Due to the above mentioned facts the forests area are reducing and turnings in to bare rangelands. The wilds hardly find any safer place/prey in the deep forests. There is no place left for them to hide themselves, there fore all the wild animals including the leopards move to the communities protected areas, closer to the homes, where ever they find some shelters.

In the fire seasons the animals also gather in the safe areas, as they gathered in Galiyat in now a days, because the area remained safe in the ending Fire Season.

When these animals live closer to the human living area, the battle starts. The wild animals kill the livestock of the community living near by and some times they may attack any human of the area. The people intern try to kill these animals to save there livestock and life. The leopards are so fearful that the people can’t trust them and shout for help on sight even if the animal is for away.

In the Jan 2005 a female leopard with its 2 cubs entered in a private protected area near village Ghanaian (Haripur) Their presence was announced in the masjids and people killed one of the cubs, after encircling them. The other two hardly escaped.

How to Save These Animals;

I have a few suggestions in this regard if practicable:

The rehabilitation of the reserved forest of the area must be started on missionary basis with the help of Forest/Wildlife Departments, NGOs and all other Agencies involved in conservation. So that the wilds are pushed back to the deep forest areas. The Reserved Forests of the area must be converted into National Parks.
All types off cutting and grazing must be stopped from reserved forests and Guzaras at least for 5 years for re generation process. The land of Hazara very rich and fertile, it can produce wonderful results, if protected. No plantation is required.
Environmental education/awareness about the ecosystem amongst the people of the area is the necessity of time. Even if deliberate fire is controlled, a lot is saved. For this some donor org. is required to come forward. People should be paid to clean the leaves & cut the grass instead of burning it and every thing in the area.
Each and every development of the area must be related to the environment. For this purpose Members of local bodies, CCBs and CBOs can be involved.
The officials of all related departments should take more pain and work hard, to coup with the requirements of the time. The prevailing laws must be implemented strictly.
The Haro River Area (The Neglected One) is the corridor in between MHP & ANP and the nursery of wildlife must be given preference. As it is the largest in between two parks, it can provide shelter consider able species of wildlife of the area.

All of the related Agencies NGOs and Green friends/Activists are requested to join your hands together and use all your possible potential to save this valuable National treasure.

Thanks

With The Best Regards,

WASSI-UR-REHMAN
Organizer,
Dubran Welfare & Conservation Society
Dubran DISTT. ABBOTTABAD
PAKISTAN

E-mail from DFO Wildlife Abbottabad regarding the killings of Leopards
delivered to www.wildlifeofpakistan.com

Dear all,

It is very encouraging, to see the concerns many people have shown even for killing of the killer leopard in Galliat. However, at the same time it is very painful to know that most of our colleagues have adopted a pissimistic approach towards our actions. Besides, no body had raised the question where from these leopard came? Had any body would have appreciated the efforts of the department for recovery of this endangered species, that would have certainly raised our moral for dealing such cases with more appropriate way in future. Any how let us share with you all the factual position. Many of you might know that in seventies, leopard became locally extinct in many parts of NWFP . In Galliat too the leopard disappread in late seventies. It was with the establishment of Ayubia National Park in 1984 that helped in rehabilitation of monkeys and other prey species.

Consequently, the leopard too reported their arrival in Galliat in late eighties. During the past two decades it thrived in ANP and enjoyed the full protection. Resultantly, they disperesed into the surrounding areas and our conservative estimates are that presently at least 30- 40 pairs are roaming in Galliat. This is no doubt great achievement that a species have not only been recovered but its status has been raised from endangered to COMMON. Itis evident from the fact that we are very oftenly receiving reports of livestock depredation from all over Galliat. Why it is happening? In fact the leopard become mature in 3-4 years and give birth 2-4cubseachyear. The mother keep their cubs for 1-2 years before they are weaned off. The male does not tolerate this behaviour of the female and try to force the new born leave the territory and move to other areas, other wise infanticide is a common behaviour in all carnivores and especialy in wild cats.

Since, their habitat is shrinking day by day and human population is increasing day by day, the leopards find it difficult to safely move around. Consequently, either the leopard kill the livestock or they get killed in retaliation or self defence (last year 7 dead bodies have been recovered only from District Abbottabad). The situation in Galliat has further been exacerbated by the tourists, who often feed monkeys. Every body can observe hundreds of monkeys on main road between Abbottabad and Murree enjoying the maiz comb being offered by the tourists.

This has completely changed their behaviour and instead of searching their food in the forests they spent their time on the road in summer and storming the human settelments in the winter.

The problem is many fold.
1. The department is strictly protecting the leopard and other wild species
2. The leopard population is increasing very rapidly
3. The prey base is narrowing day by day due to human and other biotic pressure
4. The habitat degredation and fragmentation is obvious
5. The compensation policy for livestock depredation is lacking, that makes the people hostile.

Even then, Is it not a dauntic task to recover a species to the COMMON status. The leopard in question killed 5 women in one week and their was every likelihood that another women may have been killed the next day, if the leopard would not have been killed on that night. The post martum report had confirmed that the leopard was 15 year old, with broken canines and nails and was empty stomach therefore AMC could not have traced any human tissue through their microscopic analysis and instead had suggested for DNA analysis.

Looking forward for your support and encouragment,

Safdar Ali Shah
Divisional Forest Officer
Abbottabad Wildlife Division
Abbottabad