A lone snow leopard wrecked havoc in a remote village in Gya, killing 63 goat kids on 29th April at Gyam nala area. All the 63 kids are killed in the attack.The animal broke into the corrals at Gya village, killing the kids (goats), President Shephard Association Gya, Urgain Phuntsog, told Reach Ladakh.

Before 15 days,  many lambs and sheep were attacked. Even stray dogs are attacking our animals. Around 115-120 goats and sheep are attacked every year. All the 114 families are dependent on agriculture and most of the families have sold their livestock due to this problem, said Urgain.

“Bodies of the animals were scattered all over the place after the incident,” said Urgain, adding that the people got enraged over the depredation that inflicted a huge financial loss on them.

Giving the breakdown, Urgain Phuntsog said that all the 60 kids goats belonged to one owner.

“We have submitted our complaints. They never recompense the poor herders who bear the losses. We again request the concerned department to find a solution to this problem,” he said.

He questions, “Shepard in Changthang has great facilities, can’t we have the same kind of facilities.”

Attacks of snow leopard & Stray dogs on the goats are frequent in Gya as conservations blame loss of habitat, climate change, and scarcity of food are some of the factors behind the belligerent attitude of the cat. Sources say about 300-400 animals have been killed by snow leopards in Gya in the past three years.