21 livestock killed in leopard attack in Mustang

Mustang, April 6

Twenty-one sheep were killed in a snow leopard attack at Chumjung village of Lhomanthang Rural Municipality-4 in Upper Mustang. The Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) Office in Lhomanthang shared that 21 sheep and Himalayan goats died, and seven were hurt in the snow leopard attack.

A barn of livestock farmer Ghyacho Gurung was attacked by a snow leopard on Saturday night, killing 10 Himalayan goats and 11 sheep, Chief of ACAP Office in Lhomanthang Umesh Paudel said. Gurung had reared 315 Himalayan goats and sheep in the barn. A team of ACAP representatives, police personnel from the District Police Office and livestock officials from Lhomanthang Rural Municipality visited the site on Sunday to assess the situation.

The preliminary estimate indicates a loss amounting to Rs 455,000. The cases of leopard attacks have been repeated in Upper Mustang in recent years. As reported, conflicts between humans and snow leopards have been visible in the area lately. During winter, snow leopards search for prey species and come closer to human settlements due to the lack of grazing areas.

Snow leopards, following their prey, also approach settlements and cause damage to local herders’ livestock. In recent times, establishing coexistence between humans and snow leopards has become tricky due to the climate change effects. Citing these reasons, some farmers have started abandoning the job of livestock rearing in the district.

The ACAP Lomanthang Office has also installed three CC cameras to keep a surveillance on snow leopards in the site where the livestock were attacked. The ACAP Office has fixed CC cameras in all five rural municipalities in the district to locate the possible habitat for the snow leopard census. The ACAP officials shared that the farmers would be provided with relief compensation for the loss caused by the wildlife rampage after an assessment as per the Wildlife Damage Relief Guidelines.

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