Kathmandu, Jan. 25: An injured snow leopard cub, rescued from Morang, was brought to the Central Zoo in Lalitpur on Wednesday. The young wild cat was found in Charghare of Urlabari Municipality-1 in Morang district on Tuesday.

The snow leopard was discovered hiding in the bamboo forest. Upon receiving reports from locals, they alerted the police and the Division Forest Office in Morang. However, initial attempts to rescue the leopard were unsuccessful. Subsequently, the Division Forest Office sought assistance from a team of the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and the National Trust for Nature Conservation. This team, comprised of five skilled individuals, including a veterinarian and technicians, successfully captured and brought the snow leopard under control using darting.

Director General of the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, Dr. Sindhu Prasad Dhungana, said that the rescued snow leopard of two to three years old has been brought to the Central Zoo for treatment on Wednesday morning. The animal was found to have an injury in its front leg.

Since snow leopards require cold temperatures, treating it in the Koshi Tappu might not be suitable, as the Central Zoo is more suitable than the Tarai. The snow leopard has been placed in the safest room with a controlled temperature. It will stay there until the completion of the treatment, and afterward, it will be released back into the wild, Dr. Dhungana confirmed.

However, it has raised concerns as to how the snow leopard, typically found at elevations of 2500 metres and above from sea level, was spotted in the Tarai lowland at 150 metres.

According to conservation scientist Dr. Madhu Chhetri, the snow leopard might have descended in the wrong direction after being separated from its mother. Typically, carnivores establish their territories after parting ways from their mothers, and in this instance, it is possible that it unintentionally moved down towards human habitats due to the connecting territory.

This is a rare occurrence of discovering high-elevation animals in lowland areas. However, similar cases have been reported in Mongolia and Russia, where snow leopards and Himalayan wolves were also recorded in lowland regions at about 500 metres.

“While discussing the impact of climate change, it should have moved to higher elevations if that were the cause. However, finding a young snow leopard in the lowlands is not attributed to climate change. Trafficking is also ruled out as a cause since it is a large carnivorous animal and cannot be easily transported,” he informed.

According to Chhetri, the mating period for the mother typically begins when the cub reaches 24 months old, leading to their separation. During this separation, the cub ventures out to find its own territory. Considering the proximity of Kanchenjunga above Morang, known as a suitable habitat for snow leopards, it is plausible that the animal might have descended from that area due to confusion.

Birendra Gautam, Chief of the Koshi Conservation Centre at the National Trust for Nature Conservation, said that during the rescue, the snow leopard displayed aggressive behavior and sustained injuries. He added that locals might have unintentionally harmed it while attempting to chase it away.

The snow leopard was sent to the Central Zoo at 9:30 pm on Tuesday after being rescued and initially brought to the Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve.