A snow leopard, which was found in an injured state at Jhusang VDC-4 in Mustang on Monday, died at the Nepal Army High Altitude School in Jomsom on Wednesday.

The emaciated male snow leopard, roughly seven-year-old, was found with injuries in its front legs.  Conservationists have blamed the Annapurna Conservation Area Project (Acap) and the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) for letting the endangered leopard species die by not administering treatment in time.

“The snow leopard would have lived if the concerned authorities had not delayed the treatment process,” said a conservationist. “The Acap officials did not listen to me when I urged them to start  the treatment without further delay.” He claimed that the NTNC officials had suggested that the treatment would cost a lot of money.

Acap officials have refuted the allegation. Niru Thapa, chief of Acap office in Jomsom, said they did their best to help the sick animal, but it was too weak.

“We even called a team of technicians from the central zoo, but it was already late. The animal had not eaten for long and it was very weak when the villagers found it,” she said.

The conservationists, meanwhile, said that

Acap officials should have sent for medical help and not technicians to save the snow leopard.