The Margalla Hills National Park, the third-largest national park in the world, will have the first Asian Leopard Reserve of Pakistan.
The project seeks to protect big cats in the park spread over an area of 17,386 hectares in the capital Islamabad.
According to the Climate Change Ministry, the area has recently served as a permanent new habitat for wild cats. They would previously see big cats roam around during winter months and during summers they would go back to a higher altitude.
Climate Change Adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government Malik Amin Aslam says the Government will work out a plan to ensure safe mobility into the Leopard Reserve with the help of monitoring, and display and distribution of information to minimize the chances of any encounter between the humans and the wildlife.
Islamabad is one of the greenest capitals in the world on the foothills of the Himalayan Mountain range, and the Margalla Hills National Park boasts of rich biodiversity that includes 600 plant species, more than 400 bird varieties, 38 mammals, and 27 species of reptiles, according to a report.
During the corona lockdowns, several people spotted leopards on the edges of the hills as human activity in the area came to a halt. Islamabad Wildlife Management Board says the population of leopards in Margalla Park has increased due to a healthy ecosystem.
Margalla hills have many popular trails with trekkers that zigzag to hilltops and leopards are said to be found in the territory between trails 4 and 6.
Wildlife advocates and animal rights have welcomed the move but experts say Islamabad will have to work diligently to achieve a sustainable coexistence between the humans of the area and the growing wildlife as other mountainous areas have sometimes seen deadly incidents for humans and a loss of biodiversity.
