Pet leopard escapes Pakistan owner’s home, mauls six as it runs amok
- Pakistan last year banned the import of exotic mammals after large numbers were brought in or bred in recent years
- The trend of keeping big cats as pets has been growing among wealthy Pakistanis in recent years despite a ban on the import of exotic animals
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A pet leopard escaped from its wealthy owner and roamed the streets of Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, for hours, mauling six people before being shot with a sedation dart, wildlife officials have said.
“According to our initial investigation, it is a pet animal and not wild at all, but he is scared and is constantly roaring,” said Tariq Bangash, director of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB), on Friday.
It was “a unique rescue”, said IWMB spokesperson Rina Saeed Khan.
The trend of keeping big cats as pets has been growing among wealthy Pakistanis in recent years despite a ban on the import of exotic animals, according to environmentalist Anis Rahman.
African lions, Bengal tigers, Asiatic bears and leopards are some of the big cats being kept as pets by families across Pakistan.
In Pakistan, the wealthy like to show off by keeping lions as pets
The leopard on the loose in Islamabad was captured by officials, who took it to the city’s former zoo, which was shut down in 2020 over its treatment of animals.
The creature, aged between two and three years old, is now in the company of a brown bear, a tiger and several monkeys rescued by wildlife authorities in recent months.
“We have information that several people in Islamabad and upscale areas of Rawalpindi are keeping wild animals including leopards as pets,” Bangash said.
Police are now trying to track down the owner of the leopard.
Islamabad is bordered by the Margalla Hills where a preservation zone has been set up to protect wild leopards in the area.
