Wildlife Dept Takes Notice of Killing of Leopard in Nowshera

News Desk

Peshawar: The body of a common leopard, killed by unknown people, was found in the mountains of the Manahi area of Nowshera district.

The Wildlife Department has taken serious note of the killing of the precious animal and started a thorough investigation into the incident.

An official of the KP Wildlife Department informed on Wednesday that the leopard was seen in the mountains the other day, and later, his lifeless body was spotted by some local people who informed the office of wildlife.

A team from the department has reached the mountains of Manahi to collect evidence from the scene.

Divisional Officer Wildlife Amir Khan stated that it was a common leopard that is called ‘Prang’ in the local language. Khan added that the mountainous range of Darra Adam Khel is the territory of this precious animal.

These animals also sometimes roam into the adjacent mountains of Nowshera in search of food and become the victims of uncalled-for people’s rage. These animals, Amir Khan further said, pose no threat to humans unless threatened.

The officer told that the initial investigation of the body of the leopard confirmed that the animal was poisoned to death and later the body was dumped in this remote area.

However, he added that a complete investigation into this unfortunate incident will be carried out to bring the people responsible for the animal’s death to justice.

It is to mention here that the common leopards are the largest predators of its ecosystem and they play an important role in maintaining its health. They keep control of the population of herbivores and remove unhealthy animals from their habitat, according to the World Wide Fund (WWF).

A balanced population of wild herbivores is critical to the health of forests as they can easily overgraze, which can affect forest regeneration and growth. This in turn keeps diseases from spreading and maintains a population of fit and healthy wild animals. Additional input from APP.