Jungle to jail: Leopard at Dhodial languishes in bird cage

Wildlife authorities call for a proper conservatory for the big cats.

MANSEHRA: Wildlife authorities are in a fix over how to accommodate the growing population of leopards in Dhodial Pheasantry, where one of these elegant big cats is confined to a cage meant for birds.

Officials responsible for the animal conservatory said there was initially one pair of leopards in Dhodial. Three months earlier, another leopard which gave birth to two cubs was also brought from the forests of Manshera.

This increased the total number of leopards to five within the first week of December.

Due to harsh weather and snowfall in the hilly areas of Kaghan, Naran and Manshera, some leopards moved towards areas inhabited by locals, said the officials. This, they added, increased incidents of the big cats preying on cattle and attacking villagers.

After repeated complaints, the wildlife department placed cages and caught a three-month old female leopard which was also shifted to Dhodial Pheasantry.

Since the conservatory has only two cages which are occupied by the couple, and the mother and her cubs, authorities had to shift the infant leopard brought there recently to a cage made for pheasants.

“It is not feasible to keep the minor with a lactating mother leopard or the couple,” said District Forest and Wildlife Officer Iftikhar Ahmed.

He said it was dangerous for the infant to be kept with other leopards as it could be killed by them at anytime. Thus, it had to be kept in the cage meant for pheasants, he added.

Ahmad said the female leopard from the older couple, which has been in Dhodial for years, is also expected to give birth to at least two cubs within a couple of months. This would increase the population of the spotted cats to eight.

Two more leopards caught in cages placed in Mundagucha and nearby forests might also be brought to Dhodial. But limited space in the conservatory will make it difficult to accommodate 10 leopards.

According to Ahmed, there are around a 100 pairs of leopards in the forests of Hazara, Manshera and Galiyat. The frequent visits of these animals to nearby villages threaten the lives of cattle and locals, who often kill these leopards for fear of being attacked.

This has forced wildlife authorities to keep the leopards in cages not meant for them.

Ahmed suggests constructing a proper leopard conservatory for their preservation and further growth, especially in Hazara.

Spread over eight acres of land within the precinct of Hazara University Gardon Campus, the Dhodial Pheasantry is the biggest in Asia, with a population of over 2,000 birds. It has 16 of the 40 species found in the world, said official sources.

Dhodial was set up in 1984 for conserving rare species of birds. Cheer, Kalij, Koklass, Himalyan Monal, Western Tragopan, peacocks, cranes, ducks and other species of birds can be found here.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2012.