A citizen recently caught sight of a common leopard in the vicinity of Margalla Hills and captured footage of the big cat wandering freely along Trail 5 in Margalla Hills National Park, Islamabad.Â
The video has since gone viral on social media, prompting a response from the Chairperson of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), Rina Saeed Khan.
Taking to Twitter after the incident, Khan explained that during Ramadan, few people visit the trails, leaving the area deserted and allowing wildlife to roam freely.Â
Leopards live inside Margallah Hills National Park. They are shy & avoid humans. During Ramzan, less people on trails, less disturbance & they might venture out on main trails. No need to panic. Leopards in park are sign of healthy ecosystem. Just follow guidelines @WildlifeBoard pic.twitter.com/JKpOfbcD3y
— Rina S Khan Satti (@rinasaeed) April 3, 2023
She went on to note that while leopards are typically nocturnal and solitary creatures that actively avoid human encounters, they are not a threat to visitors in the protected area, and instead serve as an indicator of a healthy ecosystem.
Khan noted that the leopards live in the national park, reminding the public that humans are the ones intruding on their territory and that disturbing them can be harmful.Â
She urged visitors to Margalla Hills National Park to follow the guidelines set by the IWMB for the safety of the citizens as well as the local wildlife.
SOPs … nope nope nope … i’ve seen what that bear did in CocainBear to hikers … so standing still for the leopard to come doesn’t sounds right… maybe the chairperson can do us a live video demo with a leopard and we may learn more about how to react when we see one …
Idiots koi kaam SOPs say bh kr liya karo.
Leopards are one type of a cat. They will only attack you if they think of you as a food. But since we are bigger in size than leopards so they dont have the courage to attack humans. Neither they think of us as a food. A very small unattended child may look like a food to them because of the smaller size. So therefore adult humans have no chance of leopard attack unless you threaten them or they attack you only in self defence.