Margalla Hills leopards face poisoning threat

The growing leopard population in the Margalla Hills’ terrain, reportedly numbering eight in the locality, is vulnerable to extinction not by poachers' guns or natural causes, but deliberate poisoning.

For their increasing food requirement, the leopard family is forced to prey on nearby localities' domesticated animals, exposing them to a constant threat of deliberate poisoning, a practice common among locals in the past to protect their livestock. They had reportedly been throwing poison-laced meat loaves in the forest to get rid of these large cats.

"It's an established fact that in the past, poison as a deceptive weapon had been used against these predators,” said Quddus Abbasi, a resident of Shahdara village.

Sharing their ordeal, the residents have asked for the establishment of a compensation fund, saying that a number of their goats and half a dozen cows and calves have recently been hunted by wild cats, causing huge financial losses.

"My cow was killed within a radius of just 200 metres from the house, and we strongly suspect leopard involvement as the villagers have seen it moving with a pair of cubs nearby," said Zakir Hussain.

Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) had reportedly found the body of a leopard in a deteriorating condition in early 2018. "After that, we started awareness campaign regarding the importance of wildlife for the ecosystem", said IWMB Operations Manager Sakhawat Ali.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2021.