Police capture an endangered snow leopard after it devoured dozens of sheep on several farms.
Farmers in the Tashsayi village, in the town of Waxxari, located in China’s north-western Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said the wild animal strangled 27 sheep in their pens.
They reportedly immediately alerted Waxxari Police after they found the animals’ bloody carcasses at around 11am on 22nd December.
Police officers rushed to the scene to investigate the matter, and were stunned when they discovered that it was a snow leopard, a nationally protected animal, that attacked the herds.
A video shared on social media platforms shows the wild feline lying next to the blood-soaked animals, after which police along with Forestry and Grassland Bureau crews caught it in a massive cage.
Following its capture, the snow leopard was taken to a nearby vet who verified that it was in excellent physical health and satisfied the criteria for being released.
To prevent it from attacking the locals’ sheep again, forestry experts transferred the snow leopard to the Altun Shan National Nature Reserve.
Additionally, to recover the shepherds’ financial loss. Law enforcement stated that they would assist them in reaching out to the appropriate state authorities for compensation.
The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), commonly referred to as the ounce. Is a species of large cat native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia.
It is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species as the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals.
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It has also been listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Appendix I includes species that are threatened with extinction. And international trade in specimens of these species is generally prohibited for commercial purposes.
Snow leopard populations are expected to decrease by about 10 per cent by 2040. Due to poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments.
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Story By: Georgina Jedikovska, Sub-Editor: Simona Kitanovska, Agency: Asia Wire Report
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