DERA GHAZI KHAN: In the Balochistan, area of Dera Bugti, seven tribesmen are accused of killing an endangered leopard. The local police have filed a complaint against them.
The tribesmen in the district’s Zain area reportedly killed the leopard to defend their livestock.
According to Dera Bugti Deputy Commissioner Ejaz Khan, legal action against the tribesmen has been taken by the district administration in accordance with The Balochistan (Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act 2014.
Additionally, he demanded that wildlife organizations start awareness efforts to teach the tribesmen the importance of safeguarding endangered animals.
Sarfraz Bugti, the chief minister of Balochistan, has also taken notice of the incident and instructed the authorities to prosecute the offenders harshly.
The leopard was identified as a Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) by Umer Waqas, a former volunteer with WWF Pakistan.
This species is indigenous to the Iranian Plateau, which includes Balochistan’s southwest.
These Persian Leopards usually live in rocky ravines between 600 and 3,800 meters above sea level, where they mostly hunt ungulates.
There are presently thought to be less than 1,100 adult leopards in this area.
Leopards have become more aggressive toward humans as a result of the lack of their natural prey, which has forced them to search for new territories and pursue other sources of food.
The fragmentation of their habitat due to changes in land use, poaching, the extinction of wild prey species, and reprisals for killing cattle pose a threat to Persian leopards.
