KARACHI, April 5 Three black leopards purchased in February by the Lahore Zoological Gardens at more than 250 times the price the supplier had paid to import the animals from France have been returned to him because they have become weak and sick, Dawn has learnt.

Highly placed sources said the zoo had bought each leopard - Panthera pardus - for over Rs2.5 million while the supplier had paid around Rs10,000 for the import of each leopard. However, the zoo administration claims that the price was competitive and all legal formalities were followed for the purchase that had been made in a transparent manner.

The black leopards had been returned to the supplier following the controversy which surfaced about the purchase of white tigers by the zoo at an inflated price. The zoo had paid more than Rs3.7 million for each white tiger that was purchased by the supplier for Rs0.1 million, the sources said, adding that the black leopards might have become weak and sick but a major reason, though not accepted officially, was to avoid any further controversy.

Responding to Dawn`s queries, Lahore Zoo director Yusuf Paul said the zoo had purchased three leopards - one male and two females - aged around six to eight weeks for around Rs7.6 million from a Hyderabad-based supplier, Shahid Mehmood Bhatti. He had imported the animals from France after the zoo obtained the permission from the Islamabad-based National Council for the Conservation of Wildlife.

The leopards - colloquially known as black panthers - were handed over to the zoo in the first week of February, he said, adding that they fell sick very soon, perhaps because they could not acclimatise to the changed weather.

When questioned about the exorbitant price and its payment, the official insisted that all legal formalities had been fulfilled for the purchase, explaining that tenders had been called before the award of a contract in a transparent manner. He claimed that the prices were competitive. However, he expressed his ignorance about the cost the supplier had paid to import the animals.

The leopards` supplier, Mr Bhatti, told Dawn that all three leopards had been returned to him, as one of them fell sick and the other two were weak, within the quarantine/probation/trial period of one month.

He sounded worried when he said he was not sure about the Rs7.6 million, which the zoo had to pay him for the leopards. In fact, he said the zoo even charged him Rs30,000 for their feed and medicines. However, he avoided disclosing the price and the import duty he paid for the leopards despite repeated questions. The importer said he was not sure what he would do with the animals now.

When contacted, officials of the Islamabad-based NCCW confirmed that a permission to import three leopards had been issued to the Lahore zoo in December 2008.

Customs duty

Customs sources at the Allama Iqbal International Airport, Lahore, told Dawn that the zoo had imported three black panthers from France. They said that the importer had purchased all three animals for around Rs15,000 and paid an equal amount of customs duty. They said that this way the total cost of three leopards would not be more than Rs30,000. However, the sources said, the importer sold the three leopards to the zoo for around Rs7.6 million, earning a profit of around Rs7.57 million on a total investment of Rs30,000 in case the transaction had been completed.

The sources apprehended that the supplier, who was in possession of the black leopards, could sell them to any zoo in the country.

A member of the Felidae family, the leopard is the smallest of the four big cats; the other three are tiger, lion, and jaguar. Once found in southern Asia and Africa, from Korea to South Africa, its numbers have drastically reduced over time due to reckless hunting and loss of habitat.

It has survived in some countries because of its ability to cover 60 kilometres per hour and adaptability to a variety of habitats.