A pet leopard captured in a residential area, currently in its cage at a former zoo in Islamabad, on February 17, 2023. AAMIR QURESHI / AFP
A leopard escaped from a house it was used as a pet in Islamabad on Thursday, terrorizing the neighborhood for hours before being captured, Pakistani security services learned on Friday. wildlife.
Videos posted on social media show the young male feline sneaking under cars before knocking a man down on a residential street in the capital and then jumping over a garden fence.
symbol of wealth
“According to our first observations, it is a pet and not at all an animal living in the wild. But he’s scared and won’t stop roaring“, told AFP the director of the wildlife protection committee of Islamabad, Tariq Bangash.
Pakistan last year banned the import of exotic animals – including big cats – previously facilitated by lax legislation. Big cats, seen as symbols of wealth and power, are particularly popular with Pakistan’s golden elite.
The leopard, aged two to three, slightly injured four people before being captured and placed in the capital’s former zoo, which had to close at the end of 2020 because the animals were mistreated there.
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He is now there with a black bear, a tiger and several monkeys, all domesticated animals rescued by wildlife services in recent months. “We have information that several people in (Islamabad) and other areas of Rawalpindi (town adjoining the capital) keep wild animals for company, including leopards“, added Tariq Bangash.
The police have opened an investigation to find the owner. Islamabad is bordered by the Margalla Hills National Park, where a special leopard conservation area was recently created.
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