Hunting the "Hunter"- Leopard's of Pakistan

Understanding the case at hand is simple yet complex, however it can be summarized as following.

You live at a place, becoming true native, happily progressing and thriving. Slowly yet steadily, you are encircled by aliens, let it be new settlements, new towns, new neighbors. Moving further, they start curtailing your perks, things that made you flourish. So it becomes a battle for survival.

This is what the leopards in Pakistan are faced with, and the extinction is inevitable. In a country of almost 250 million, data suggest only 250-300 left, or lets say a million humans vs 1 leopard. (link)

A highly alarming piece in The Guardian by Ana N. perfectly captures the fate of leopards in Pakistan (link), however unlike most regions it is not poaching but the incompatibility between humans and this beauty of a creation in the evolving eco system.

With depleting or rather vanishing forest cover, nothing to feed upon, and the vast territorial freedom being "colonized", the mighty leopards are more and more venturing into neighboring towns and settlement, leading to conflict with humans.

The conflict is avoidable, and a resolution is possible as both parties are primarily "deprived". The leopards loosing ground and basic necessity to survive i.e. wild animals and the mankind locked in poverty, fearing loosing their livelihood i.e. "livestock" in most cases.

While nature conservationist are heroes without recognition, doing much with little in hand to save this invaluable specie from extinction, it seems that the race against time is already against them.

It is time that the serious effort is put towards declaring instead of many, unmanageable ranges as conservation grounds and national parks, a singular piece of land which the leopards can finally call their own, well preserved, well managed, truly cordoned and with ample resources to ensure their extinction is reversed. Else, it wont be long that these leopards of the peak will be stories of legends, of something that existed such as Tasmanian Tigers.

The system of compensation, rightly pointed in the article, is too weak in a resource starved country like Pakistan. With time, this conflict between man vs wild will become more frequent, intense and the loosing side will be leopards the most, humans too with their livestock and lives in certain cases.

A rationale approach on other cases would have been advocacy, enlightening vulnerable communities on leopards nature, instincts, safeguards etc. However, it would have worked a decade or two earlier, not now. It is now a one sided survival for leopards, which need serious rescue which is presently possible through collective resources channeled on a singular platform, a natural reserve solely dedicated to the leopards.