A wild snow leopard that killed 50 sheep has been captured and
put in a zoo in northwest China's Qinghai Province.
The big cat haunted the Qijia village, Gonghe county of the
province, and attacked the sheep before angry villagers finally
decided to hunt it.
They chased the leopard on motorcycles and roped the beast after
lengthy fight.
When villagers were told that the wild snow leopard they had
snared was under first class protection along with the panda, they
decided to hand it to the Xining Zoo in the capital city of the
province rather than kill it.
"The animal, aged five or six, was caught alive by the villagers
only because it had been without food for several days and was
weak," said Xu Shuren, head of the zoo and expert on wild animal
protection.
There are believed to be between 5,000 and 7,500 snow leopards
left in the wild and around 500 in captivity, mainly in Asia.
Qinghai had an estimated 900 to 1,200 wild snow leopards, Xu
said.
The demand for snow leopard pelts in some countries had led to a
great drop their numbers.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2007)