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Snow leopards are both a boon and a threat for local communities
Snow leopards have been forced to the edge of extinction by hunting and human encroachment and are now one of the world's most endangered animals. In the far north of Pakistan, locals have long feared them but find themselves now relying on money that saving snow leopards brings in. What is it like living alongside a ferocious predator? M Ilyas Khan finds out.
Retired teacher Hasil Murad Khan is hurrying to report "a matter of grave concern" to the police.
"The boys down in Ramaan have seen a snow leopard, and I have come to report it before there's any trouble," he says.
Mr Khan is also head of the co-operative in Ramaan, a remote mountain village in Chitral district.
"The sooner I report it to my high-ups, the sooner they'll inform the relevant authorities for action," he explains. Within the hour, a pair of policemen are expected to set out on patrol around the village, joined by Mr Shah and a couple of volunteers.
The authorities do not normally react with such speed, particularly somewhere so remote, but snow leopard conservation is important to both communities and officials here.
Cash incentives
Substantial investment programmes are in place to help preserve these rare animals which, though rare and beautiful, present a serious threat to livestock.
"These are pastoral communities with heavy dependence on livestock, and a carnivore's presence scares them," said Dr Ali Nawaz, head of the Snow Leopard Foundation.
"The problem is compounded by the fact that all carnivores are protected by law, and nearly all the communities in the snow leopard range have agreements with the government and international donors to protect those carnivores."
In return, these communities get substantial investment in livelihood and habitat improvement projects which may be reduced if one of their members is found harming the area's wildlife.
A hairy encounter
Snow leopards are elusive - but a number have been filmed by remote camera stations
"It happened way back in the past, maybe 15 years ago. It was my turn to herd the village flock. I led them up the Shali Gol gorge.
There was some commotion in the herd behind me, and the dog started to bark. I turned around and saw a snow leopard grab a goat by the throat and take off towards a ridge.
I ran after it with an axe in my hand. The snow leopard could not run fast because it was carrying the goat between its jaws and forelegs and had to jump at each step.
I caught up with it from behind and swung my axe, bruising it slightly near the tail. But just then it took a leap across a stream that was flowing down the slope. It cleared to the other side but the goat fell in the gushing water, its blood turning the water red.
As I looked up, the snow leopard turned around to face me, and the anger inside it seemed to boil over so hard and the hair on its face and chest swelled to such a bulge I could no more see its shoulders or hips.
The next thing I remember, I was running as fast as I could, and there was no axe in my hand. To my knowledge, never before has a snow leopard spared a living thing that wanted to run away from it."
Mohammad Khanis, 55, Shali village in Chitral
But what has been even more lucrative for the local communities is a trophy hunting programme started by the Pakistani government in the 1990s.
Under this system, communities that agree to enforce the ban on poaching of carnivorous predators, including snow leopards, are awarded lucrative annual permits which they can sell to foreign hunters to hunt wild goats in their areas.
The snow leopards' movements are closely monitored
Locals' goats are at risk from snow leopards...
... as are other livestock
In a good year, village co-operatives across Pakistan's snow leopard range, which is spread over more than 80,000 sq.km (31,000 square miles) have raised $700,000-$800,000 from trophy hunting permits.
Co-operatives that can regulate their livestock grazing patterns more efficiently than others have done better because they tend to attract a larger population of wild goats, and therefore more hunting permits.
This also benefits the snow leopards, which feed on the wild goats.
"The lesser the grazing pressure on alpine pastures, the more the wild goats will prosper, and the greater will be the chances of survival of snow leopards that feed on those goats," says Shafiqullah Khan, field officer in Chitral for the World Wildlife Fund.
