Awareness stressed to avoid shooting endangered animals

IWMB official says leopard encounters can be survived if a person remains calm and quiet

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of growing encounters with leopards in the hilly areas of the country, including a recent incident where a leopard was shot and killed in Swat, a top wildlife official in the federal capital on Thursday suggested creating greater public awareness about these animals and their habits to avoid any situation where these endangered animals are killed.

The public needs to be informed that leopard and wildlife encounters can be safe so that they avoid shooting the endangered animal, said Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) Assistant Director Sakhawat Ali on Thursday while speaking to the media.

He asserted that an encounter with a leopard in the wild does not have to be one-sided and that it can be handled safely, provided that the person remains calm and quiet without creating panic.

‘Pakistan’s endangered species more vulnerable than ever’

"Most human-wildlife violent encounters occur due to the people who are unfamiliar with wildlife as they start screaming or shooting at the beast, which not only scares them [the animal] but also provokes them to retaliate," he added.

“People need to realise that it will be better to call wildlife department officials to deal with a situation like this,” Ali said, adding that this is the only way to avoid a situation like the one which took place in the Sar Banda area of Swat earlier in the week where locals killed a snow leopard after it attacked a residential area injuring two people.

This may not have happened if the locals had tackled the situation sensibly, he said.  

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2020.