Ali Teymouri, director of the Hunting and Fishing Office at the Department of Environment has denied claims that a leopard attacked and killed 23 sheep in Dehdasht County, Kohgilouyeh-Boyer Ahmad Province.

It was reported in April that the gory death of 23 sheep was perpetrated by a leopard, but nobody had seen or heard the incident, which means that accusing a leopard for sheep�s deaths was nothing but conjecture.

Teymouri says attacking and killing several livestock is simply not in a leopard�s nature.

�It is extremely unlikely that a leopard could be responsible for the slaying of the sheep. It is beyond the character of a leopard to kill so many animals at once,� ISNA quoted him as saying.

According to Teymouri, the severity of the attack points to a more feral animal, possibly a lone wolf, or maybe an entire pack.

�Once our experts determine the animal responsible for the deaths, the shepherd will be compensated,� he said.

The DOE unveiled a wildlife insurance scheme in April in cooperation with the Ma Insurance Company, which compensates rural residents and shepherds against loss inflicted by wild animals, such as the Persian leopard and wolves.

The aim of the scheme is to dissuade those who have suffered damages by wild animals from taking matters into their hands and killing the culprits, which usually happen to be endangered species.

By Financial Tribune