Snow leopard hunts down Markhor

The News International - CHITRAL: A snow leopard hunted down a Markhor near Shahresham in the Toshi conservation area, an official of the Forest Department said Wednesday.

Divisional Forest Officer Wildlife Imtiaz Hussain said the incident was the first of its kind in which a snow leopard caught a Markhor, the largest member of the goat family, in the winter season. He said that earlier a foreign TV channel team had arrived to shoot scenes of snow leopards hunting Markhors but they could not do so as there were no leopards in the area at the time.

Al-Burkhan Village Conservation Committee (VCC) General Secretary Shahzada Gul said this was the second attempt of a snow leopard to hunt down a Markhor. He said presence of snow leopards was a good omen for tourism in the area, adding that it would attract more people to come to Chitral.

“Hundreds of Markhors and Ibex are living in the Toshi area,” he said, adding that Markhor and Ibex often came down in the afternoon to drink water from the river.