Villagers kill rare white leopard

Locals claim the leopard mauled a number of goats in the village

KARACHI:

Local villagers killed a rare white leopard within the boundaries of Kirthar National Park on Monday night, officials said.

The Sindh Wildlife Department (SWD) swiftly took action and registered a case against five individuals involved in the killing.

Sources revealed to The Express Tribune that the leopard was shot dead at approximately 12:30am, and photos of the incident were circulated on social media.

SWD officials, led by Deputy Conservator Wajid Shaikh, identified two of the villagers responsible as Qadar Bux and Ghulam Hussain Sonaro from the local community.

Shaikh expressed the department's commitment to apprehending the culprits, stating, "We will have to arrest these men." The SWD learned about the incident through social media, prompting a prompt response.

Read: Zoo intruder mauled to death by tigers

The killed animal was found in the village of Mohammad Ali Faqeer, within the jurisdiction of taluka Thana Bola Khan.

Deputy conservator confirmed the unprecedented nature of the incident, noting that a white leopard had never been sighted in the Kirthar National Park before. He speculated that the leopard might have migrated from Balochistan.

The last recorded sighting of a leopard in the area dates back to 1976.

The SWD is taking legal measures in response to this unfortunate incident. The dead leopard is being transferred to Hyderabad, where it will be presented before the court.aq

Published in The Express Tribune, January 24^th, 2024.