SNOW LEOPARD SURVIVAL ISSUES, IN THE HIGH HINDU KUSH REGION OF CHITRAL

SNOW LEOPARD SURVIVAL ISSUES, IN THE HIGH HINDU KUSH REGION OF CHITRAL

The district of Chitral, in the extreme north of Pakistan, is hemmed in by lofty peaks of the Hindu Kush range and has got scores of main and side valleys with snow line at around 5000m on the south faces and 4500m on the north. The highest section of this big chain of mountains lies within Chitral. The southern parts of Chitral have enough forest resources but a greater part to the north is barren, without many trees and the few found in the good old days have been cut and burnt due to shortage of other sources of fuel. These valleys host wildlife like Markhor, ibex, snow leopard, wolf, fox, lynx, bears, snow cock, partridges, quails, kites, vultures, crows, rooks, magpies, crows, falcons, * hawks, and a host of other species. Under the govt. Wildlife Rules all kind of wildlife is protected, watched by a staff to check illegal hunting and law specially protects Snow Leopard and hunting one is culpable of punishment by imprisonment and fines.

Traditionally Snow Leopard is not hunted as there is no market for its parts nor its meat is edible under the rules of Islam so both religiously and legally protected, it must have a good population in this region, but the number seems constant according to the estimates as 76 in Chitral Hindu Kush and adjoining foothills. The estimate was made in 1983–84 by pugmarks, predation reports, occasional sighting etc. This big cat lives, breeds, feeds and is seen frequently in the Roshgol, Udren and Atahk, valleys of Terich, [High Hindu Kush] Chitral regularly. It feeds upon ibex and Markhor population as well as other smaller animals and wildlife, as freely as it desires and comes down to the valley floors in winters when heavy snow fall compels it to descend to lower altitude and then it poses threat to domestic animals. This article is focused on the constraints faced by snow leopard in the above-named valleys and side valleys of the high Hindukush section and the threats faced by this big cat in this particular region. More info is also interesting, especially the traditional knowledge and indigenous approach beside the info from other distant valleys where it is also seen but sporadically, but the above-mentioned valleys have been famous for the presence of this cat as reported in January 2006 about an old Snow Leopard roaming in the valley at nights.

Though the Wild Life Department Watchers staff carries out regular reconnaissance/ vigilance and rough census/ survey each year about the number of Ibex and Markhor population but they have no update/data about Snow Leopard…In spite of the fact that local poachers do considerable damage to ibex and Markhor population they get soft penalty and consequent upon the decrease in the number of these species the Snow Leopard gets less and less food and thus it becomes compelled to descend to villages, hungry to hunt domestic animals viz. goats, oxen etc. and that stage becomes dangerous for its life, for the owner would determine to avenge his loss by trying to kill it. Though it has been declared an ENDANGERED species but that does not deter a man who suffers loss of livestock as a result of its attack on his domestic animals. The govt. also does not compensate for any loss sustained by the owners of the cattle or goats. Moreover the terrain is so tortuous with high gorges that poaching cannot be easily detected and the wild life watchers do not have modern devices to get info on the movement of wild life especially the big cats, also the poachers pose a threat for the lives of the wild life watchers in the far flung mountain regions- the habitat of the wild life.

More than four decades ago there were different rules of big game in this part of the country. Snow leopards were neither killed then nor now for its meat or any other part of its body as it were fashionable or lucrative in other parts of the world. Only once a group of hunters from my own village, I recall, did kill a Snow Leopard when they found it trying to overcome a big ibex. The Snow Leopard was allowed to weaken the ibex first and when they were sure the ibex is no more able to fight back, they opened fire on the big cat and killed it and bagged the ibex as well. It was skinned and brought to the village, stuffed and placed on display as show of victory. It was my first close view of a snow leopard. It was an unusual size. Some years later another big cat entered a goat pen in a nearby village in winter and was killed by the owner of the house, for the loss it had wrought to the flock of the man concerned. Both cases occurred in the Terich valley of Chitral in the early 60s.

My first close encounter with a live Snow Leopard occurred when I was in my early 20s, out for a quail hunt with a shotgun. It was early in the morning, but sun was already up, and I was waiting, just sitting over a rock, looking down the side of the slope but after feeling too cold, I changed my position and just then saw a snow leopard ambling at about 50 feet from me on the avalanche glacier with its long tail stretched out equally as long as its body. It was heading towards the upper slopes of the valley and its golden spots were bright and very noticeable in the early sun light. This was my first close sight of a Snow Leopard and I watched it move along very gently and gracefully. I did not move from my position but looked at its gait as it walked over the glacier and it was a good stretch of flat ground, so I enjoyed its sight for about a km when it finally disappeared behind a ridge.

Goat herders and pastoral communities spend all the summer months in the far-flung valleys of this region and keep rifles to protect their flocks, are reported to shoot wolves/ big cats whenever their flocks are attacked and the news is kept secret for fear of Police. They keep their weapons concealed in the secret slots in the grazing grounds/slopes. In the good old days whenever a big cat was seen entering a summer pasture or after an attack on the flock, the herders did not have rifles, but they used traditional method of deporting the cat by beacon light…that is by blazing a big fire day and night and this fire and smoke was considered enough to scare away the big cat. Now the fire wood stock has been almost entirely depleted from the valleys and such a fire beacon system is no more possible, so rifles are handy alternative, secretly kept and used to keep the flocks safe.

Three years back I got a report, in May, that a Snow Leopard was seen dead in an avalanche glacier. Some boys were up on the hills to collect firewood when one of them saw a Snow Leopard in a sitting position, just in the middle of the glacier… the group signaled to each other and ran down as fast as they could, for they feared an attack and told the story to their fellow guys in the village and the following day another party went up to check but found it sitting as it was the previous day.. they had a hunch and moved closer, checked by binoculars and found its lower part sunk deep in the ice and later found it dead. It had been carried away by avalanche in the winter and by the beginning of the summer the snow had melted and the upper part of its body was visible but the rear side was still inside the avalanche debris.

Some valleys of the High Hindu Kush mountain system i.e. Roshgol, Udren, Atahk, etc. have the largest stock of glaciers of the region and drain into the main Terich valley. It is these valleys that have been favourite Snow Leopard habitat since immemorial past, for its rugged and vast wilderness, richness in flora for ibex population as well as compliance of game Laws by the local men BUT now the big cat is really endangered due to:

1. Great increase in human population in the Terich valley and unemployment.
2. Over- use and cutting of trees in the wild life habitats, for use as fire wood due to extreme cold and windy winters because of its proximity to the largest glaciers of the region as no other source of energy is available,
3. Loose wild life control system
4. Access to weapons for hunting

5. Absence of recreational facilities for young men who turn to hunting and cause damage to wild life.

It is to be noted that this region of North Pakistan gets rains and snow fall in winters only, from the clouds coming from the West — Caspian and Mediterranean seas- and this snowfall is some years heavier than other years, so the intensity of winters varies but there is no such authentic data about precipitation. In summers this region remains very dry from May to November and this has its adverse effects on the life and products of the region where double crop is grown up to 7000 feet and above that we get only one crop a year. The over increase in population, small size plots for farming, one crop a year, long and severe cold winters, low literacy rate, non-availability of medical /health facility etc. have made life too hard for the local people and, therefore, poaching is increasing day by day, to add to their food stuff.

The arrival of Snow Leopard in the vicinity of the villages in the Terich valley, at the base of Roshgol valley, is an age long old phenomena where it announces its presence in December to February, on and off, as the higher parts of the hills are covered in deep snow and Snow Leopards know the route how to navigate the slopes in winters to avoid avalanche sites. It reports its arrival in the very cold season by its deep throated calls at night from certain ridges on its route, during its up or down journey, staying at its favourite spots for some days [usually they travel in twos] and frightening children by its calls at nights. Normally they don’t attack domestic animals but driven by hunger for longer period, they attack goats outside the villages. Mostly they get their food from the ibex flocks after stalking carefully. Regarding humans their behavior is very gentle.. they never attack humans even if they come across on the mountain tracks and there does not exist any such record of attack in the history of the region.

• In the old days of Chitral Hawks and falcons were trapped and trained for hunting but now-a-days a special kind of this species known as Churkh is caught under license and exported to UAE.