In north-west Pakistan, big cats are more feared than global terrorists
by Haq Nawaz Khan and Tim Craig for the Washington Po from on (#MXWR)
'Man-eating leopards' have been reported around Abbottabad - Osama bin Laden's last redoubt - as wildlife officials struggle to reassure public
Osama bin Laden hid out here for months, if not years. But in the hills surrounding Abbottabad in north-western Pakistan, residents say they face a far scarier menace than terrorists.
With descriptive stories that bring to mind mythological tales of man against beast, Abbottabad residents claim to be locked in a terrifying battle against Pakistan's endangered population of leopards. The big cats - referred to as common leopards to distinguish them from their smaller cousins, snow leopards - lurk in the Himalayan foothills.
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