A case has been filed against an unknown person for keeping the leopard that injured five people in a residential area on Thursday.
The FIR carries sections related to attempted murder and states that the leopard’s attack on humans can be fatal. It adds that the animal had been kept in the hose against the law
The leopard emerged in Islamabad’s Defence Housing Authority on Thursday and was tranquilized and transferred after a rescue operation that went on for around eight hours on Thursday.
The leopard had to be cornered and tranquilised after wildlife officials failed to lure it into a cage.
Wildlife officials have claimed that the leopard ‘escaped’ from a safari park but social media has speculated that the wild cat was being kept as a pet at a house in the area. Some have claimed that the owner is a former army officer. Officials who participated in the rescue said that the leopard did not behave like a wild animal.
Wildlife officals said that atleaset four people received minor injuries, including two wildlife officials.
Rina S Khan tweeted that the leopard was being kept in the rescue centre in Islamabad, which formerly housed Islamabad’s zoo.
She also said that, Ali Sakhawat and Rizwan Mehboob, who work for the wildlife board had sustained injuries.
The leopard ‘suddenly’ emerged in the DHA and its presence was first reported to wildlife officials around 4 pm. It could be seen running around, possibly panicking and feeling trapped, as residents scampered for their lives. Videos posted on social media showed the leopard chasing people in the street and scaling walls.
Rescue 1122 reached the scene before wildlife officials but had failed to set up a cordon or subdue the leopard.
Reports also said that a number of tiktokers also reached the scene after hearing that a big cat was on the loose.
Leopards make the odd appearance in the capital now and then. A whole group emerged in a village near the Margalla Hills last year but no people were hurt. However, Islamabad’s DHA is far from the mountains where the leopard’s habitat is located.
In videos posted to social media of the six-hour jaunt on Thursday, the young male cat slips between cars before knocking down a man and leaping over a garden fence.
“According to our initial investigation, it is a pet animal and not wild at all, but he is scared and is constantly roaring,” Tariq Bangash, director of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, told AFP.
Pakistan last year banned the import of exotic mammals after large numbers were brought in or bred in recent years, causing problems for wildlife officials.
Big cats are seen as symbols of wealth and power in the country.
The creature, aged between two and three years old, is now in the company of a brown bear, a tiger and several monkeys rescued by wildlife authorities in recent months.
“We have information that several people in Islamabad and upscale areas of Rawalpindi are keeping wild animals including leopards as pets,” Bangash said.
Islamabad is bordered by the Margalla Hills where a preservation zone has been set up to protect wild leopards in the area.
