CHITRAL: The management of Chitral Gol National Park failed to find a clue to the hunter who had shot down a grey wolf in the buffer zone of the national park in Singoor village.

Muhsinullah, an eyewitness, told Dawn here on Monday that two days ago a wounded wolf entered their village from the buffer zone of the national park late in evening. He said that he tried to contact the officers of wildlife department but failed.

Holding master degree in zoology with specialisation in wildlife, Mr Muhsinullah shifted the wounded animal to his home in the night but it succumbed to injuries in the night before being taken to a veterinary hospital.

He said that some of his villagers had spotted a young boy in the pasture chasing the wolf. They also heard shots of an automatic rifle after which the wolf entered the village, he added.

Mr Muhsinullah said that the hunter made good his escape after firing at the animal fearing that the villagers would identify and got him arrested. The wolf had received bullets in its leg and shoulder, which were bleeding incessantly, he said adding that timely treatment could have saved it.

He said that the animal wielded a great importance in the ecology while it had been classified as protected species, whose population density was on steep decline due to merciless killing by the shepherds and hunters.

Altaf Ali Shah, the sub-divisional forest officer of Chitral Gol National Park, said that the animal was shot at in the buffer zone of the national park and they were making every effort to find the hunter.

He said that the animal had a considerable population density in the national park which moved frequently to the buffer zone to onward move to the nearby Toshi game reserve in search of food in the winter season.

Mr Shah said that the carcass of the wolf was disposed of after its proper postmortem by Dr Sheikh Ahmed, the senior veterinary officer of livestock department, while search of the hunter would continue.

He eulogised the efforts of the villagers to save the wounded animal and said that local people were fully aware of the ecological importance of wildlife.

Published in Dawn February 3rd , 2015

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