Shopian: On World Wildlife Day, wildlife officials in Shopian had a reason to cheer after they successfully rescued a “huge” leopard from Heff Shirmal village in Shopian district, after spending two nights out in the cold tracking the animal.
According to wildlife officials, they received information about the spotting of a leopard in Heff Shirmal village on 28 February and soon they sent a team to the area.
They said that after a tough search conducted in the nights in the rugged terrain of karewa land, without sleep or warm blankets, they successfully rescued the animal after a dart was fired to tranquilise it.
Mudasir Ahmad, in charge of the wildlife control room Shopian, told Kashmir Reader that it was tough job as the locals again caused inconvenience and created noise during the rescue operation. “Thank God, the leopard was successfully rescued without any untoward incident,” he said, while again appealing to the people to not create disturbance during wild animal rescue operations.
According to Mudasir, it was a huge leopard. It was captured on Tuesday night and released in wildlife habitation on Wednesday morning.
Earlier in the month of January this year, a leopard was killed by a mob at Oudur village of Shopian after it mauled nine sheep to death. Another leopard was killed by another mob at Pathan village of Pulwama after the animal allegedly injured one civilian.
According to wildlife officials, about half a dozen animals have been captured and released in wildlife areas by the wildlife division Shopian, which also includes district Pulwama, in recent weeks.
Rouf Zargar, a wildlife expert, said that human interference in wildlife habitations and this winter’s heavy snowfall are among the reasons which have forced wild animals to venture into human habitations.
“Leopard is a human-friendly animal, provided it does not get provoked or fells threat to its life. It only attacks in self-defence,” Zargar said.

Raashid Hassan