CHITRAL: A snow leopard was found dead in the pastures of Wakht village of Garam Chashma valley here on Monday afternoon. The animal was spotted in the area about two months back after its long disappearance for more than 10 years.

The deputy ranger of wildlife department, Shafiq Ahmed, and regional programme manager of Snow Leopard Foundation, Jamigh Sherazi, told Dawn that after receiving a report about spotting of the snow leopard carcass, they reached the spot along with a team.

They said the carcass was frozen, which meant that the animal had died many hours before their arrival. They said the cause of death of the wild cat would be ascertained only after the postmortem was carried out in the veterinary hospital, where the body was being shifted.

Earlier, the leopard was spotted in Wakht, Munoor and Beghusht villages, which attacked the goats of the local people. The people had also been voicing concern about their losses.

The area has recently received snowfall forcing the animal to come to lower altitude areas in search of food and that was how it came in close conflict with the local population, an official said.

An environmentalist requesting not to be named told Dawn that the death of the wild cat might not be natural.

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2026