Islamabad : Three newly born leopard cubs have been spotted in the jungle of Murree hills, indicating wildlife is still thriving despite facing numerous dangers due to the deteriorating environment and illegal hunting and poaching for financial gains.
According to the details, the presence of these leopard cubs has also generated fear because illegal hunting and poaching in the Murree hills is still a grave issue for the relevant authorities.
Asif Yamin, a local man, said “I fear the presence of these leopard cubs in this area will attract hunters and poachers who may try to snatch them from their mother. All this is done for money and various gangs are still active in this area.”
He said, “It is also a test case for the relevant authorities because they should take all-out measures for the safety of these cubs unless their mother brings them to any safe place in the thick jungle.”
It is pertinent to mention here that a hunter recently killed a female leopard in Muzaffarabad that was moving towards a river to drink water. The wildlife department in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab then introduced new administrative measures to curb illegal hunting but this issue is yet to be resolved due to various reasons.
Now there is a ban on the display of weapons in Murree to protect endangered animals like leopards, which sometimes come down from hilltops for food and become easy prey for hunters. Sometimes the local people also kill tigers or leopards out of their fear but these kinds of human-wildlife conflicts have reduced due to the declining population of these rare wildlife species.