ISLAMABAD: A leopard wandered through the model village of Saidpur, driving panicked residents indoors with its menacing growl on Thursday, though there were conflicting reports of more leopards, up to five by some accounts.

Wildlife officials came to know of the leopard, which was spotted after sunset, when villagers made a video and posted it on social media.

One resident claimed he had seen three leopards in the vicinity. “I went to the roof (of my house) after I heard the growl. They were three of them. I ran back to safety,” Malik Saifur Rehman said.

An official of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) ruled out the possibility that three leopards were on the prowl together.

However, IWMB chair Rina S. Khan Satti tweeted there were only two to three leopards at the maximum.

She said Saidpur had “expanded illegally” over the years. “We need to learn to live with leopards as our neighbours ... It’s not the leopards that have entered Saidpur. It’s Saidpur that has encroached on the leopards’ territory.”

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2022