Injured leopard passes away after being saved

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) announced that a leopard rescued from Hatila Balla in Azad Jammu and Kashmir passed away on Monday.

The incident calls for attention to the critical state of wildlife conservation in Pakistan, a country with a growing population and its subsequent stress on the flora and fauna around it.

Read more: Pakistan steps up global efforts to designate snow leopard symbol of climate adaptation

Leopards are classified as vulnerable due to the habitat loss and poaching in a country with lax implementation.

The leopard was rescued after the IWMB dispatched a rescue team to recover the animal.

The leopard was transported to a veterinary clinic in Islamabad for better medical treatment, where X-ray images showed severe spinal injures and several bullet wounds.

Despite efforts by the medical team, the leopard died to his severe injuries.  

Read more: Snow leopard cub rescued from illegal trade in Gilgit

The rescued leopard reportedly weighed 63 kilograms and was around 6-7 years of age.

Leopards pay a critical role in maintaining the ecological balance in its habitat. However, leopards in Pakistan face huge threats, from habitat loss, to encroachment usually for real estate, retaliatory killings by angered farmers and illegal hunting.

Read more: MarGo: Islamabad gets new mascot

The world’s fastest land animal is found in the mountainous regions and forests of Pakistan. Their population has been in sharp decline for years now due to human-induced activities.

While conservation efforts have attempted to protect the leopards and their habitats, it is not on a scale needed to prevent the beautiful animal from going extinct.