Pakistani travelers spotted a leopard at the Margalla hill in Islamabad on Tuesday night. The travelers traveling to Daman-e-Koh spotted the leopard and filmed him. The travelers later released the video on social media that instantly went viral.
The video showed a leopard playing at the side of the road, hiding in the bushes, and then come back to the road.
The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board said that the leopard belonged to Margalla Hills National Park. These leopards often come to roads at night hence, they have warned the travelers traveling up the Margalla Hills to Pir Sohawa and Daman-e-Koh and other spots to be careful at night.
Earlier in the year, during coronavirus lockdown, the federal capital’s Margalla Hill saw an increase in the activities of wildlife animals. The coronavirus lockdown had restricted the movement of hikers and trekkers to the hill, giving space to the wild animals to roam freely.
Leopard Spotted at Marghalla Hills #Islamabad pic.twitter.com/2ytMuT4gqb
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Rangers in the Margalla Hills National Park spotted the appearances of various animals otherwise hiding on normal days. The park was closed down for a month following the lockdown.
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“There is a big increase in the number of animals (seen) in the national park,” ranger Imran Khan from Margalla Hills National Park said to AFP.
“Wildlife is comfortable as there are no visitors here. They are wandering here comfortably, which is a good sign for the jungle,” Khan said.
Park provided the pictures to AFP, showed leopards padding along paths, an inquisitive jackal, and a muddy boar.
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Sakhwat Ali, Islamabad’s assistant wildlife director, said space is home to 38 mammals, 350 bird species, and 34 reptiles species and including 27 types of snake. He added that rangers have spotted new creatures in the space.
“There are some species of butterfly which were not reported earlier, but these are visible now,” Ali said.