Low temperature, rabid construction pushing leopards away from habitats

Islamabad:The experts believe that the leopard that lost life in an accident near Nicholson’s Monument on GT Road descended from the mountains due to low temperature and illegal construction work in their natural habitats.

According to them, the big cats are expanding their natural habitat in the protected Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) and reclaiming those areas that they left many years ago due to increasing human interventions.

They also pointed out that the Sinyari area from where a dead leopard was found few days ago and now location of this incident showed that the big cats are moving away from those areas where illegal construction is under way by the developers.

The leopard was killed in the accident on GT road (direction from Islamabad to Taxila) just below Nicholson monument. Leopard jumped out onto road (perhaps chasing a prey) and got run over by a truck. Then another car also hit it. A motorist who witnessed this incident took footage of the leopard that was lying dead on the road.

The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) sent a team to recover body of leopard for autopsy but, unfortunately, it had gone missing. The IWMB officials were trying to locate eyewitnesses to file First Information Report (FIR) at local police station in Sangjani.

It is illegal to remove the remains of the endangered common leopard as the law states “Any wild animal found dead or dying or which has been killed or caught otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance or the rules, and any trophy or meat thereof, shall be the property of the federal government.”

According to Pakistan Strategic Forum, destruction of habitat is forcing these elusive creatures, already declared 'critically endangered' species, in a desperate struggle for survival. The common leopards are the largest predators of the ecosystem of the national park and they play an important role in maintaining its health.

They sit at the top of the food chain and manage population of herbivores and also remove the unhealthy animals from their habitats. Balanced population of wild herbivores is critical to the health of forest as they can easily overgraze, which can cause problems for other animal species.