The One That Got Away

Jamalabad, Pakistan: When Ulfat Karim recently discovered an unwanted guest on

his land in this small village in Northern Pakistan, his immediate reaction was to
protect his livestock by catching the intruder. But then he discovered that it was a
snow leopard.
amous for being both rare and very fierce, snow leopards are found in !" countries,
stretching from the #entral $sian %epublics to &ongolia. 'hey live in rocky
mountains, arid shrubland or grassland and sometimes in open coniferous forest.
'hey are an endangered species and (elen reeman, founder and president of the
)nternational *now +eopard 'rust ,)*+'-, e.plains why. /*now leopards are few in
number, large0bodied and have a low population growth,/ she says. /$lso, their
habitat is being threatened as humans move in./ $lthough we admire these elusive
creatures, they are still a nuisance for the communities where they live. $ hungry
snow leopard does not distinguish between wild and domestic animals. *heep and
goats, as well as cattle, horses, donkeys, camels, and even dogs have been killed.
)t is difficult to please both people and leopards. *ince many people depend on
domestic animals for their income, it is not surprising that farmers have often killed
snow leopards. But some people today have more enlightened attitudes, and Ulfat
Karim decided to protect rather than to kill the predator.
/'wo of my sheep were dead, and ) found the snow leopard wrestling with a third,/
he said. /'hey say the snow leopard becomes inebriated at the sight and smell of
blood, and unaware of what is happening around it. ) hit it on the head and wrapped
my shirt round it until my brother came. We tied it up and kept it until a makeshift
cage was built./
or four days Ulfat Karim1s family fed the cat !20!" kilograms of meat 0 including
the animals it had killed and others that died later. /) realised that ) couldn1t bring my
sheep back to life, but ) could limit any further damage,/ he said.
Karim is a member of the Khun3erab 4illages 5rgani6ation ,K45-, set up to protect
animal species in the buffer 6one round the Khun3erab National Park. 'he K45
reports any illegal hunting and also aims to convince others of the benefits of
protecting wildlife. When other members heard of the snow leopard, they came to
make sure that it was safe.
our days after its capture, the animal was released, !7 kilometres from where it had
been caught. 4illagers chased it as far into the buffer 6one as possible, hoping they
would prevent it from returning to prey on their livestock.
Basit Khan, WW0Pakistan1s #oordinator for the Northern $reas, praised the
villagers from their unselfish action. (owever, 8urban 9an, *ecretary :eneral of the
K45, warns that farmers who lose livestock must be given compensation. 5therwise
the ne.t leopard to wander onto their property will not be treated so kindly.
!. What is the main topic of the article; ,#hoose one.-
a- 'he dangers of living in Northern Pakistan
b- 'he behaviour of snow leopards
c- 'he relationship between snow leopards and humans
d- 'he )nternational *now +eopard 'rust
". What was the unwanted guest on Ulfat Karim<s farm;
=. What damage did it cause;
>. (ow did Ulfat Karim capture the animal;
7. (ow did Ulfat find food for the animal;
?. )n the end, what did Ulfat and his friends do with the animal;
@. Where do snow leopards live;
A. :ive three reasons why snow leopards are endangered.
B. a- :ive one reason why the villagers might want to kill snow leopards.
b- 'hink of another reason why people might kill snow leopards. ,'he answer is not in the
article.-
c- 'hink of at least one reason why the Ulfat Karim and the other villagers did not kill the
leopard.
!2. %ead the last paragraph. What does 8urban 9an mean when he says Otherwise the next
leopard will not be treated so kindly;
!!. What word is used to describe all of the following animals;
sheep, goats, cattle, horses, donkeys, camels, dogs
!". &atch the following wordsCphrases to their meaningsD
guest very dry
intruder someone who visits you
arid hard to see, secretive
habitat a troublesome personCthing
elusive someone who enters without permission
nuisance the natural home of a plantCanimal
distinguish to kill another animal for food
prey on animals kept on a farm
livestock to see the difference between two things