A leopard caused panic and chaotic scenes in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Thursday. The big cat ran around a residential area for a few hours and the gamekeepers called for help had great difficulty catching the animal.
The leopard, kept as a pet by a retired general, wandered the city for hours before officials from the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) managed to sedate the two- to three-year-old cat with a tranquilizer dart.
Numerous videos published on social networks show how the leopard slips between cars and jumps over a garden fence. Four people were slightly injured. The cat also reportedly attacked two IWMB employees. A total of three people were injured, police said.
Pet of a retired general
The leopard is “a domestic animal and not wild at all, but it is scared and roars all the time,” IWMB chief Tariq Bangash said in the media. The big cat is said to be the pet of a retired general.
Big cats in the status symbol of Pakistan
It is not uncommon in Pakistan to keep lions, tigers or other exotic animals as pets. The animals are a status symbol. Their wealthy owners post pictures and videos of their big cats on the online networks and rent out the animals as props for movies and photo shoots.
Source: Krone

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