ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has rescued a leopard cub whose teeth were broken and a paw fractured.

The five to six months old cub had possibly wandered into a village in Dhirkot, Bagh in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) where the residents treated it roughly. The AJK wildlife department found her tied up so tightly that she could barely move, was starving, cold and weak. A video of the cub captured from a mobile phone camera showed her trying to break free, and then collapsing with fatigue.

Three days ago, the AJK wildlife department approached the only Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (Islamabad Zoo) in the country, informing it that the cub would be released back into the wild, hoping that its mother would be near.

“Two days later, the cub returned hungry, cold and much weaker. The AJK wildlife department requested the IWMB to collect the cub for better care,” the board’s chairperson, Rina Saeed Khan, told Dawn.

The cub was brought to Islamabad dehydrated, had scabies, but is now under treatment, Rina Khan said, adding that, “the vets have said the cub will survive. We have named her Lucky. It’s a miracle she has survived.”

“A decision would be taken if Lucky could or could not be released into the wild. It seems less likely because her teeth are broken,” Rina Saeed Khan said.

She went on to say that it took a year for the 14 months old Baboo, the rescued Bengal tiger, to recover at the Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre after vets gave up on him and recommended that it be put down.

“Baboo had several broken bones and was deficient in nutrients. Today the tiger is hale and hearty, and was being readied for transfer to a sanctuary in South Africa,” she added.

Rina Saeed Khan said the common leopard was enlisted as endangered by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2024