MUZAFFARABAD: A young leopard gripped the attention of travelers for about an hour after it descended on a main road near here on Friday, witnesses said.

However, before a team of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) wildlife department could reach the spot, it leapt to the adjacent mountains and disappeared.

The young common leopard, scientifically known as Panthera Pardus, was first spotted along the main Muzaffarabad-Mansehra Road near Brarkot village at about 8:50am. It was sitting at the edge of the road towards the mountainside, partially covered by hop bushes. Later, it crawled up to the metalled portion of the road, blocking traffic from either side.

Footage posted on social media showed a large number of people gathered on both sides of the bewildered animal which remained at rest for about 20 minutes.

Ahmed Afzal, who was in the crowd, said though there were no visible marks of injuries, the leopard remained rooted to the spot against its nature.

However, Syeda Shaista, an official at the AJK wildlife department, said since Panthera pardus was considered to be a reclusive and shy animal, it got scared when it saw itself encircled by dozens of people, some of whom were also making noise.

She said her department immediately dispatched a team to the area along with the required equipment to take care of the big cat, but before they could reach there it jumped back to the mountainside and disappeared.

Team member Abdul Shakoor said they combed the area for more than one and a half hours to rescue the young leopard, but in vain.

“We have shelved the rescue operation believing that the leopard has rejoined its habitat up in the mountains where the tree density is comparatively thick,” he said.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2023