While it was roaming free in the wild, it was resented from a distance for allegedly devouring two children, but now that it has been captured by the wildlife department from a forest in the Galiyat, the leopard has become the centre of attraction for locals and politicians.
Leopards have invaded surrounding villages with increasing frequency since the forests are being encroached upon and have attacked residents in the past. Locals believe the big cat killed the children while hunting for cattle. This is the first time, however, that the animal has been captured.
PML-N MNA Murtaza Javed Abbasi visited the families of the two children who lost their lives to the leopard and distributed Rs300,000 as compensation to their parents.
Since last week, former prime minister and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his nephew MNA Hamza Shahbaz have visited the leopard in his cage at the divisional wildlife office. The leopard is the symbol of the PML-N. Official sources stated that Sharif stayed for an hour to question officials about the leopard and discuss its future.
He offered the services of veterinary doctors from Punjab to care for it and suggested it be moved to the Islamabad zoo where he believed it would be well taken care of. However, the Marghazar has lost big cats and cubs born in captivity, allegedly due to officials’ negligence as reported in newspapers.
Frequent visits by spectators have also resulted in severe head injuries and teeth fractures for the caged leopard.
The leopard which belongs to the nearly extinct panthera pardus species, has refused to eat because it is under stress since it has been put on display.
According to officials, the animal is unaccustomed to interacting with humans and has not acclimatised himself to the new environment. When offered a hen, the leopard killed it but did not eat it. Another official added that it had to be sedated for long periods of time to prevent it from becoming too angry and frustrated.
When contacted, Divisional Officer Wildlife Arif Aurakzai refused to comment.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2011.
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