SWD to register case against killers of Indian leopard

KARACHI:

"The leopard was just 15 feet away from me. It gazed at me and moved away silently and peacefully," said Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) senior official Mir Aijaz Talpur on Wednesday sharing his close encounter with the Indian leopard slain by villagers in Tharparker.

SWD will register a case against the people who had killed the rare and protected animal which was causing no harm to people or livestock, Talpur said brushing aside claims that the predator had killed many goats, though no carcass was shown by the villagers.

On Tuesday, Talpur, SWD senior official for Mirpurkhas division, reached village Mureed Jo Tarr, some 65km from Mithi city of Tharparker, to witness the presence of the Indian leopard in the area.

"Fear prevails amongst the villagers that the animal will harm the human population," Talpur said. "The leopard [usually] doesn't attack humans," he said talking to The Express Tribune.

Talpur said that he reached the village at around 1:30 pm on Tuesday. "The animal was killed within an hour after I left the area," he said.

Talpur, Sindh Wildlife Department's official, had convinced the villagers that they should not harm the animal until he came back to the area again. "I promised them that the animal will be taken away by his team but they killed it," he said trying to control his emotions.

"The plan was to bring the tranquilizer gun from Karachi and to shift the leopard to Kherthar mountain ranges," Talpur shared.

On Monday, the staff of the SWD also visited a village near Gurano Dam on the information that the animal was seen in the area. They witnessed the footprints of the leopard but did not see it in the area during their few hours search.

Rumours

The rumours circulated in the area that the 'cheetah' was killing livestock, including cow and goats, although it was a leopard.

"We did not find remains of any livestock killed or attacked by the leopard," Talpur claimed. He said that the villagers claimed that at least nine goats were killed by it. "It is not possible for a leopard to kill several goats at a time," he explained. The predator kills only for food, unlike humans who kill animals for sheer pleasure of killing.

Incident and autopsy

The unknown killers first shot in its face and then attacked it with sharp axe, killing the leopard on the spot. The body was found from the road, some eight km from Mureed Jo Tarr village.

SWD team reached the spot and transported the body to Mithi and shifted it to Karachi after autopsy.

The total weight of the Indian leopard is said to be 55 kg, male and about six feet long [including its tale]. It was a young and mature animal.

"We will do the DNA of the animal," said SWD's provincial Conservator Javed Ahmed Mahar. "It is an Indian [rare] leopard," he added. Speaking to The Express Tribune, Mahar said that: "the case will be registered against the killers."

Presence of female leopard

The villagers near Karoonjhar mountain have also witnessed a female Indian leopard in the area. "I will visit the area soon and will try to protect this one," Talpur said. The wildlife officials believed that from Karoonjhar mountain to Rann of Kutch, it is one of the habitats of the Indian leopards.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2023.