ABBOTTABAD, Jan 8: The wildlife department in Abbottabad has handed over a killer snow leopard to the Karachi city government. The leopard, which mauled at least five women in the heavily-forested Galyat region last year, will be housed in Karachi’s sprawling Safari Park.

The animal was later transported to Karachi by the national air carrier.

On Aug 25, 2005, the snow leopard was captured by PAF personnel and wildlife staff near the PAF Base Kalabagh and kept in Abbottabad by the wildlife department until a suitable home could be found for it.

The wildlife department said it had received several requests from different parks and zoos in the country but it had decided to accept the former nazim Naimatullah Khan’s earlier request for zoo animals.

The leopard, estimated to be 10 years old, was handed over by DFO Muhammad Hussain to a two-member team from Karachi which included Safari Park’s deputy director Dr Syed Kazim Hussain, and Tariq Nasser, the district officer (Safari Park-Karachi).

Wildlife officials said that not a single attack was reported following the leopard’s capture. They said that experts presumed that it was the same animal which was involved in a string of deadly attacks on villagers last year.

The wildlife department hired the services of seasoned hunters and two leopards were killed by the joint team of wildlife and police and some cages were also kept to trap the leopard.