Partnership note: The Snow Leopard Foundation (SLF) is Snow Leopard Trust’s conservation partner in Pakistan. Snow Leopard Trust supports SLF’s community conservation programs, research, and training.
A Voice from the Mountainside
On March 3, 2021, Wildlife Watcher Nasir Ahmad was visiting Rabat village in Pakistan’s Arkari Valley for wildlife monitoring when a resident, Mustajab, approached him. Mustajab could hear what sounded like a cat calling from the mountainside. The terrain was difficult, and he was afraid to investigate alone.
Mustajab knew Nasir through Nasir’s work with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife Department. Nasir regularly patrolled the area, met with residents, and encouraged them to report wildlife sightings. Rather than ignore the sound or try to handle it himself, Mustajab asked Nasir for help.
Following Mustajab’s directions, Nasir climbed the mountainside for approximately half an hour.
Trapped Above Rabat
Between two large stones, Nasir found a female snow leopard trapped and unable to free herself.
“I was afraid too, at first,” Nasir recalled.
He moved closer and saw that her tail was caught between the stones. Nasir freed it, allowing the snow leopard to pull herself out. But as she moved toward the road, he realized that she was badly injured. She could use her front legs, but both hind legs dragged behind her.
Snow leopards often chase prey downhill across steep terrain, and Nasir thought she might have fallen during a hunt. Without a veterinary assessment at the site, however, the precise cause and extent of her injuries were unknown.
The snow leopard reached a retaining wall near the road and lay down beside it. Nasir needed more people and the right equipment to move her without causing further harm or putting residents at risk.
Bringing Back Help
Nasir traveled four hours back to Chitral and reported the situation to District Forest Officer Altaf Ali Shah. The officer assigned Ejaz from the Snow Leopard Foundation and Rasheed, another Wildlife Watcher, to return with him.
The team carried a net and a tranquilizer gun, along with a cage vehicle for transporting the animal. According to Nasir, the gun could deliver a tranquilizer dart from 50 to 100 feet, but the team hoped to avoid using it.
After the four-hour return journey, the team reached Rabat and found the snow leopard still beside the wall, where residents had watched over her while Nasir was away. The team borrowed a locally made mat from a nearby home and tied ropes to its four corners. When the mat reached the injured cat’s chest, she moved onto it, allowing the team to lift her into the cage without using the tranquilizer gun.
“It was an emotional moment for me,” Nasir said.
The Village Steps In
Residents watched over the injured snow leopard while Nasir was away. When the team returned, Khawaja Gul, Zarkhan, and others brought chicken and meat from their homes. Nasir remembered one resident crying as he prepared a chicken, worried that the injured animal had gone hungry.
“I was happy to see the response of the community,” Nasir said. “I thanked the community for helping me rescue the snow leopard. The people cared for the injured snow leopard when I left for Chitral and came back to the area.”
Their response grew from years of contact between Nasir and the villages in the area. He spent at least two days in the field three times a month, often accompanied by local wildlife watchers. Each month, the community held a conservation meeting in a different village. Many of these villages have around 150 households.
Snow leopards were a regular subject at those meetings. Residents reported tracks and other signs. When they found a paw print, Nasir encouraged them to mark the spot with stones so that he and other field staff could examine it later. Community members guided teams to tracks and scat, and Nasir advised herders to keep livestock away from areas where recent snow leopard activity had been recorded.
Nasir also listened to residents’ concerns about livestock losses. He asked families to photograph suspected predation and report it so he could submit the case to an SLF compensation program. The community also requested a predator-proof corral, which was subsequently built in the area. These practical arrangements helped residents protect their livelihoods while giving them a clear role in wildlife monitoring.
The snow leopard was transported to Chitral and later transferred to Peshawar Zoo for treatment. Unfortunately, despite those efforts, she died while in care. The outcome fell short of what the community and response team had hoped for.
Two Decades of Wildlife Protection
Nasir joined the Wildlife Department in 2006, choosing wildlife protection over opportunities with the police and Chitral Scouts. He served in Toshi Shasha, Garam Chashma, and Arkari. By the time of the Rabat rescue, he had spent 15 years conducting patrols, responding to injured animals, enforcing wildlife laws, and maintaining relationships with remote communities.
Nasir recalled patrolling through snowfall and extreme heat, sometimes while exhausted or without food. He also confronted more than a dozen markhor poachers and registered cases against them. In 2014, he was attacked by a group of men while pursuing a wildlife case and suffered a fractured arm. He returned to field duty after recovering. His record includes arrests and the recovery of firearms and illegally hunted wildlife.
“I chose the Wildlife Department out of my own passion,” Nasir said. “When I took charge, I realized this job was not easy at all, but I never let my interest, passion, and dedication fade.”
In January 2026, five years after the Rabat rescue, Nasir took part in the official recovery of an old male snow leopard found dead near Wakht village in Garam Chashma. A postmortem found that the cat died from severe diarrhea and dehydration associated with old age and food shortage. Investigators found no evidence of poaching, poisoning, snaring, or other human-caused harm.
The Garam Chashma case came amid concern about recent snow leopard sightings near villages. Wildlife officials and the Snow Leopard Foundation held awareness meetings, provided livestock vaccinations, and committed to measures including predator-proof corrals, livestock insurance, and conservation education. As in Rabat, the response depended on people reporting what they saw and working with field teams.
In 2026, the Pakistan Wildlife Protection Awards recognized Nasir with the Markhor Award for his sustained work protecting Kashmir markhor and his broader contributions to patrols, rescue, mortality investigations, and community awareness. He was one of seven wildlife officials recognized in 2026.
“The events of the last 20 years started flashing rapidly before my eyes,” Nasir said of receiving the award.
Nasir’s contribution also included protecting habitat and organizing conservation work close to home. He lives within the boundaries of Chitral Gol National Park, across from the Toshi community. He stopped illegal hunting, pursued cases against people cutting forests, and helped form a Community Conservation Committee.
Nasir connects those efforts with the recovery of markhor in the wider area. He reported that the population had reached approximately 2,000, with groups of 85 to 90 animals now seen near some villages.
“For me, serving the snow leopard and other voiceless animals is far beyond duty and a job,” Nasir said.
Built on Trust
The response in Rabat reflects the PARTNERS Principles, an ethical and practical framework for community-based conservation. Snow Leopard Trust Executive Director Dr. Charudutt Mishra developed it with colleagues across the Trust and its partner network. Nasir’s patrols, community meetings, and response to livestock losses show how this approach worked in Rabat before the rescue occurred.
“The villages are far-flung and difficult to reach, but my continuous patrolling and engagement with the community resulted in a good working relationship between the department and the community,” Nasir said.
The Markhor Award recognized the difficult fieldwork behind that relationship. For Nasir, it also strengthened his commitment to continue.
“After receiving the award, I returned to my work with even greater determination,” he said. “I will continue working for snow leopard conservation and strengthen its protection through scientific approaches.”
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Photo credits: Snow Leopard Foundation, Pakistan