Pair of Persian leopards spotted for the first time in Pakistan

QUETTA: For the first time in history, a pair of endangered Persian leopards has been found in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.

The Balochistan Department of Forests and Wildlife has shared pictures of the rare species of the leopard. The pair of leopards found on Mount Chaltan were called Persian leopards, whose habitat was mostly from Iran to Central Asia and Balochistan.

Chief Conservator of Forests Sharifuddin said that the pair of leopards were filmed after the efforts of six months. He said that the team started to search the pair of leopards after fighting footprints at Mount Chaltan.

These leopards prefer to live in long and difficult valleys rather than deserts. Baloch said that the Persian leopard is a rare species of the big cat family, which is endangered.

The Persian Leopard, is one of the biggest of the eight recognised sub species of leopard. All the leopards have stocky bodies with comparatively short legs; their total body length (including tail) can be up to 190cm and their weight up to 70kg.

Coats have a range of base colours from yellow to golden brown with paler fur under the chin and across the belly.

They have black spots on the head, limbs and belly and spots arranged in rosettes across the back and flanks. Their spots give unique coat patterns which can be used to identify individuals.