The Margalla Hills National Park’s (MNHP) ideal habitat is ready to welcome relocation of new leopard cats from Karachi and animal experts believe they would exceed the biome’s Asian leopards in near future.
The Leopard Cats are currently the second largest predators of the MHNP and due to their 92 per cent survival rate, ability to co-exist with common Asian leopards and Park’s ideal environment are likely to become the largest predators in number.
The Leopard Cats are native to MHNP that are totally different from a leopard as the former is relatively smaller in size as compared to the common leopard with a limited range or area to survive in the national park, told APP Manager Operations Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) Sakhwat Ali while briefing on the endangered cat species.
The Sindh Wildlife Department recently rescued two male cubs of leopard cats and decided to shift them to the IWMB Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre established in the national park. Sakhawat informed that the leopards were under quarantine of 7-14 days as per the protocol and would be released after the process.
“A leopard and leopard cat share their territory due to communal feeding niche (profession of a predator or its habitat to feed on specific preys). Leopard feeds on larger animals whereas the leopard cat feeds on household chickens, small rodents in the wilds and Kalij pheasants,” he informed.
The IWMB Manager Operations told that earlier in 2019, the wildlife board had released one leopard cat rescued from a poacher. In 2018, the IWMB rangers had found a dead leopard cat that was killed by AAA cartridge of shotgun rifle. “After that incident, a detailed study by PMAS Arid Agriculture University and the IWMB team was done to study the routes, feeding behaviour and movement of the cat in the national park that helped to develop good resource data on its conservation,” he added.
To a question, he said the number of offspring of animal or bird species facing threats were relatively larger as compared to those having favourable breeding conditions. “Similar is the case with leopard cats and also there is no conflict to occur between the leopards and leopard cats due to different volumes of prey.”
