The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department has auctioned an exportable trophy hunting permit for a markhor in Upper Kohistan for over $200,000, marking one of the highest bids in the province’s conservation program.
According to the department, 80 percent of the revenue will be allocated to the Kaigah Conservation Community, which oversees wildlife protection efforts in the region.
Divisional Wildlife Officer Noor Mohammad said Upper Kohistan is home to both Kashmiri and Astor species of markhor. “We recently handed over a cheque worth over Rs. 46 million to the local community for three hunts carried out during the last season,” he stated.
He explained that two of the three hunts conducted between December 2024 and March 2025 were exportable, allowing foreign hunters to take their trophies — including horns — back to their home countries. The Kaigah Conservation Area, located around 20 kilometers from Dasu, currently hosts more than 600 markhors.
The department also sold a non-exportable permit for the upcoming season (December–March) for $75,000. Noor Mohammad added that recent estimates place the markhor population in Upper Kohistan above 1,200, thriving across the district’s rugged mountain terrain.
Trophy hunting in the area began in 2005, with 80 percent of the proceeds consistently going to local communities involved in conservation.
Former Wildlife Officer Kath Baz Khan, who supervised the last season’s hunts, said the Kaigah markhors are known for their larger horns, noting a record 53-inch horn from Kohistan and a 44-inch trophy hunted by a foreigner in March 2025.
