11/09/09
Big cats are returning to Margalla Hills
Link: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/big-cats-are-returning-to-margalla-hills-919
Big cats are returning to Margalla Hills
By Munawer Azeem and Jamal Shahid
Monday, 09 Nov, 2009 | 08:29 AM PST
ISLAMABAD, Nov 8: Sunday evening was more than just another balmy slightly overcast winter evening for the trekkers on Trail 5 - they had the pleasure of spotting a big cat.
It was a rare pleasure because the Margalla Hills cat is so elusive and so secretive that only few have had the good luck to catch a fleeting view of it in the wilderness.
Scary it may have been, but spotting one of the Nature’s most stunning creatures was nonetheless an incredible sighting, according to those who saw one on Sunday.
A trekker on his way up the hill spotted this epitome of stealth and cunning sitting in the middle of the trail. Frightened, he retraced his steps to raise an alert.
SHO Secretariat Police Station Inspector Hakim Khan and his two men were the first to reach Trail 5 to see who dared to invade their turf.
They found the cat sitting majestically there.
After giving them a piercing look, the cat stood up calmly and ambled away, making the point that it was her home turf too.
“Although armed, my men were a bit confused as we have strict orders not to shoot,” said the police officer. “Getting trekkers to safety is our top priority.”
Hakim Khan quoted a WWF official, who arrived on scene after getting news of the sighting to ensure the animal’s safety, as saying that this particular cat had become used to human presence and so would not harm people.
CDA’s Mustafain Kazmi supported the view that the big cat was not dangerous. Two grown up leopards, with three cubs, are resident in a three-kilometre stretch of the Margalla Hills, according to him.
“It is best to avoid trekking after sunset,” he advised.
Margalla Society chief Roedad Khan too offered the same advice. “Walk in groups and avoid the place after dark,” he said, hailing the return of wildlife in the Margalla Hills as good tiding.
His staff had spotted a big cat also in the Kalinjar Park which was once being destroyed by quarrying.
Now animals have once again found cover there, he said.
“Leopards descend in winters into Margalla Hills following one of its favourite food - monkeys, which it finds in plenty numbers here. It’s probably not dangerous, but the leopard can pounce on a trekker if it fears it has a family to protect,” said Mr Khan asserting that leopards were “not encroaching but returning home”.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/big-cats-are-returning-to-margalla-hills-919
1 comment
I AGREE WITH THE AUTHOR.BIG CATS ARE THERE AND SOME TIMES THESE ARE SEEN IN RESIDENTIAL SECTORS TOO.IT HAPPENED WITH ME DURING 1997 IN WINTER SEASON WHEN TWO BIG CATS ENTERED MY BACK YARD LAWN AND ATTEMPTED TO ATTACK MY PEACOCKS BUT DOG DID HIS BEST TO KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE BIRDS.I COULD NOT SEE THEM DUE TO DARK AS IT WAS 2.00 AT NIGHT.NEXT DAY I SAW VERY CLEAR FOOT PRINTS IN THE ROSE BED.THAT WAS A BIG SIZE PAW.WE THOUGHT IT MAY BE BIG DOG. YESTERDAY ON 24-07-2011 AT 4.OO MORNING SAME TYPE OF INCIDENT HAPPENED WHEN A LARGE SIZE ,PROBABLY MOTHER AND A SMALLER SIZE PROBABLY KID BROKE THE CAGE OF MY POLISH DUCKS AND KILLED ALL.SIZE OF CAT HAS BEEN ASUMED THROUG SIZE OF FOOT PRINTS FOUND ON SPOT.I DID NOT WITNESSED THE MATTER THROUGH MY EYES.GAURD FROM NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOUR TOLD MY MAMA JEE THAT LISTENED A LOT OF NOISE IN THE MORNING BUT COULD NOT SEE DUE TO DARKNESS.I HAVE SAVED FOOT PRINTS.IF U COULD HELP ME IN IDENTIFYING THE ANIMAL ATTACKING MY BIRDS,PLEASE.MY OFFICE NO IS 051-2840848.SOHAIL.
