Experts call for conservation of common leopards in Pakistan

WWF-Pakistan hosted its Environmental Journalists Quarterly Meeting at its head office in Lahore, which aimed to highlight the threats the common leopard faces in Pakistan, Dr Uzma Khan, Director Biodiversity, WWF-Pakistan briefed media participants about the latest research findings on the common leopard.
Presenting some aspects of her doctoral research, Dr Uzma said, "Conflict with local communities is a serious issue and the primary reason for this is loss of habitat, which has caused the loss of natural prey species of the leopard." The leopard is dependent on domestic animals for its food resources, which leads to agitation in communities and retaliatory killings of leopards.
Dr Uzma added that data provided by communities showed that more livestock is lost to due to disease than compared to the leopard. Access to veterinary facilities needs improvement along with improvements in husbandry practices. It is believed that the leopard population has increased because there are more sightings; however the reality is that communities have increasingly penetrated the habitat and the leopard range has reduced from the past.
A leopard's range is over a large area while the size of protected areas is small. There is no protected area established for the leopard in Punjab and its remaining habitat in Murree is under the pressure of development, while Ayubia National Park in even smaller than the home range of a single leopard. More areas need to be brought under protection.
Dr Uzma informed the audience that human-leopard conflict is another threat detrimental to the leopard's survival as herders graze openly in the species' habitat and retaliate when a leopard kills their livestock. "Communities should know that livestock grazing in a leopard's habitat is not just dangerous for their animals but for themselves as well," Dr Uzma added.
Globally, the common leopard is listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species but the Country Assessment of IUCN shows that the species is critically endangered in Pakistan, which is alarming as it can face extinction if threats associated with it are not given due attention. The WWF-Pakistan is working with communities to restore forest around Ayubia National Park and introduce alternate energy sources to reduce the burden on trees. It has set up veterinary dispensaries to help communities treat their livestock and is working with communities to improve livestock husbandry practices. The WWF also has an awareness programme on leopard conservation and managing human-leopard conflict for schools and communities.
Dr Ejaz Ahmed, Senior Director, the WWF-Pakistan gave concluding remarks and said that the common leopard stands at the top of the food chain and this holds immense importance for the ecosystem. Its conversation is therefore extremely important for survival of the ecosystem. Dr Ejaz urged participants to work collectively to raise awareness for the conservation of common leopards in Pakistan.