GILGIT: A snow leopard cub was sold in the black market after it was caught from its habitat in Nazabar Nullah in Yasen valley of Ghizer district in Gilgit-Baltistan, a source in the police told Dawn.

Many factors contribute to the threat for the survival of snow leopard population in Gilgit-Baltistan as experts warned a decline in its population.

Recently, a video was recovered by GB Parks and Wildlife Department where a youth belonging to Yasen valley could be seen playing with a cub of snow leopard in his car. Officials of the wildlife department admitted that the matter was being investigated.

Khadim Abbas, Gilgit-Baltistan’s conservator for parks and wildlife, told Dawn on Sunday that the matter was in the knowledge of the department.

Conservator for parks and wildlife says matter being investigated

According to police, on September 8 wildlife department officials reported that Kamal and Zia from a Gujjar family and residents of Nazbar Nullah, had caught a snow leopard cub in their area.

The police staff at the wildlife department raided the area and failed to recover the cub. However, the suspects were arrested who recorded their statements. They told the police that snow leopard cub had been sold to a local person.

The source in the police said that the cub had been sold to an influential person in Yasen for Rs250,000 who later shifted it to Gilgit.

Nazbar Nullah, located 16km to the west of Yasen proper, is the largest high altitude pasture of the valley. It is also the largest habitat of wildlife, especially snow leopards.

In the past, female leopards had been killed and snow leopard cubs caught and sold in the black market.

In August 2020, a female snow leopard was killed in Hoper while her two cubs disappeared.

The wildlife department had recovered the skin of the killed leopard, while the missing cubs could not be traced. The cubs were also reported to have been sold in the black market.

The authorities had arrested five persons for killing a snow leopard and three of them were sentenced by the wildlife magistrate.

Snow leopards are on the brink of extinction in Pakistan due to killing by local communities and the impact of climate change, with experts confirming a declining population.

Pakistan is among just 12 countries hosting these elusive cats with 80 per cent of their habitat situated in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).

According to experts, a significant decline in the snow leopard population across GB has been witnessed as locals who used to spot them frequently at high altitudes now report no sightings.

According to Haider Raza, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Pakistan Director North, there was a global population of only 6,000 to 6,500 snow leopards, including a mere 300 to 400 in Pakistan.

Worryingly, merely 25pc of their worldwide habitat is protected.

Experts said there are multiple challenges these elusive cats face, including human conflicts, diminishing habitats due to climate change, habitat fragmentation from human activities, and poaching of snow leopards for their teeth and bones by locals.

Published in Dawn, September 23rd, 2024