Recently, an animal killer has returned to stalk Sohrab Sagheer village and Kadya Goth, located four kilometres apart in Kirthar Range, Malir district.
At least half a dozen domestic animals have been mysteriously killed in two attacks by a yet unidentified predator many believe to be a leopard.
Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) chief conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar, though hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a leopard being the mysterious killer, he says the animals were more likely mauled and killed by a caracal- a long-legged and short-tailed wild cat that reaches the height of 16 inches to 20 inches.
The villagers told the SWD that such mysterious killings of animals have been taking place every alternate year in the area. However, some others said similar incidents were reported last year too.
Recent killings
Of the recent incidents, the first one was reported on March 2, when four goats and a dog were killed.
Narrating the incident, a villager from Sohrab Sagheer told The Express Tribune that he and his brother were asleep when they were jolted out of the slumber by goats’ cries.
“We saw something [an animal] running towards the jungle,” he said, adding that the next instant they found the goats and the dog lying dead on the ground.
He estimated that his domestic animals were attacked around 1.15 am.
The villager lamented that three of his dogs, who were outside the house, had run away due to the presence of the predator.
The next day, another goat was reported killed in the area.
A villager from Kadya Goth told The Express Tribune that before another killing was reported, he was alerted when he heard dogs barking around half past 10.
“However, we didn’t find anything after we followed the sound of the barks,” he said, adding that the predator, believed to be a big cat, attacked and killed three goats around 3.30 am.
Which ‘big cat’ is it?
The news of the killings circulating on social media drew the attention of the SWD, following which a team from the department visited the two villages to probe into the matter.
However, they found no evidence of the presence of a leopard in the area.
SWD inspector Azeem Khan told The Express Tribune that wildlife teams had been deployed in multiple villages in the area and were trying to collect evidence of the presence of the predator.
“So far, the evidence points towards a caracal being the mysterious killer of the three goats in Kadya Goth,” he said.
However, the lack of expertise and resources has been an obstacle in the way of ascertaining the identity of the predator that killed the goats and a dog in Sohrab Sagheer village.
Besides, Mahar lamented that SWD teams deployed in the affected area did not bring the carcasses of animals as the department did not have access to facilities to examine them.
Speaking about the possibility of the predator either being a caracal or a leopard, Mahar, while inclining towards the former, said the region was inhabited by both feline mammals.
“But it is more likely that a caracal might have killed the goats. This cat is a sharp and clever hunter,” he said, adding that an investigation, however, was underway to determine who the predator was.
On the other hand, wildlife conservators believe that multiple sightings of different animals in different parts of Sindh were proof to wildlife being well protected and flourishing in the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2021.
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