Leopard is a beast that many people are familiar with. It can be seen in zoos in many big cities. Chinese people are used to calling it the "two kings", that is, is the king of beasts. is the tiger, and it is the tiger after that.
Historically, my country's wild leopard population has been very abundant. They have extremely strong adaptability and exist in large numbers in forests and grasslands.
The fate of leopards is similar to that of tigers. After the 1950s, leopard populations across the country have been declining sharply, and leopards have become extinct in many areas. Only some populations still exist in the southwest hinterland, Qinling , Taihang Mountains and other places with rare human traces.
The situation of leopards is a little better than South China tiger . South China tigers have truly disappeared in the wild, but leopards have never truly disappeared in the forest.
Thanks to my country's ecological environment construction and animal protection achievements over the years, the habitats of my country's big cats have been significantly improved, which is becoming more and more suitable for the survival of tigers and leopards. An earlier survey of leopard habitats across the country found that leopard populations across the country are on the rise, which is undoubtedly good news.
Recently, the body of a leopard was found beside a road in Ningxia. It was suspected that it was hit by a car. It is really regrettable. After identification, it was found to be a North China leopard. The driver responsible for the accident may bear the greatest responsibility because the North China leopard is a national first-level protected animal. The consequences of killing it and escaping would be serious.
North China leopards are very rare
Leopards are our collective name for this type of animal. Leopards in the world can be divided into 9 subspecies, 4 of which live in my country. They are: North China leopards, Northeastern leopards, Indosinian leopards and Indian leopards.
Among them, the North China leopard inhabits the Central Plains areas such as Shanxi, Hebei, Ningxia, and Gansu; the Northeast leopard is mainly distributed in the northeast; the Indochinese leopard is mainly distributed in the southwest hinterland, and the Indian leopard is on the border of Tibet.
Among these four types of leopards, only the North China leopard exists only in my country, so it is also called the "Chinese leopard". Its name comes from "The Beasts of China and Mongolia" compiled by American zoologists in 1938.
The North China leopard is very beautiful. The base color of its hair is yellow, which is darker than that of the Siberian leopard. The body is covered with spots, and because it looks like ancient Chinese copper coins, it is also known as the "Golden Leopard" among the people.
North China leopards are well-proportioned and medium-sized. Most individuals weigh between 40-75 kilograms in adulthood, and their head and tail length can reach 1.7-2.1 meters. The North China leopard's head is rounder and smaller in proportion than that of the tiger, so it looks very coordinated.
As a unique type of leopard in my country, according to existing data, the number of wild North China leopards in the country is about 1,500, which is very rare. Although is available in Ningxia, Gansu and other provinces, the number is not large. There are relatively more in Shanxi and other places.
The North China leopard was killed and escaped, and the driver feared disaster.
The North China leopard was found on the side of a road in Ningxia. Various signs at the scene indicated that it was likely to be involved in a car accident. However, the police and relevant departments have not received an alarm so far, so it is speculated that someone killed it and then escaped.
In fact, regardless of whether it is intentional or unintentional, after hitting a wild animal, you should choose to call the police as soon as possible instead of escaping. As a national first-level protected animal, the North China leopard is extremely rare and rare. The driver who escaped may be in serious trouble.
If the driver is later found and confirmed to have hit the North China leopard, what kind of punishment will he receive? In this regard, we refer to similar cases in the past.
Chang, a driver who lives in Baojiadian Town, Manas County, hit and killed a Przewalski's horse when passing by the Kalamaili Nature Reserve in August 2007 because he was driving too fast and was too late to deal with it. Since there were no other witnesses at the time, the driver was lucky and chose to drive away.
Tianwang is very careful and meticulous. In January 2008, Chang was arrested by the police who stayed on guard for 4 days and 4 nights.According to relevant national regulations, the compensation for Przewalski's horse was calculated based on 12.5 times the resource management fee. At that time, the resource management fee for Przewalski's horse was 60,000. So the compensation multiple of resource management fee + resource management fee × resource management fee, Chang may face a huge compensation of 810,000.
The North China leopard, like the Przewalski's horse, is a national first-level protected animal, so this case has certain reference significance.
What should you do if you kill a protective animal?
As the ecological environment across the country gradually improves, the number of wild animals will become more and more abundant, and the phenomenon of them coming into contact with people on the road will become more and more frequent. When people drive on the road and a wild animal suddenly appears, they inevitably fail to react in time. What should they do if they hit and kill a wild animal?
In our country, most wild animals are protected by the state, so many drivers wonder in their hearts. When encountering this kind of situation, should they choose to turn the steering wheel hard and prefer the vehicle to roll over, or should they ram into it and choose to sacrifice wild animals to minimize the accident?
In fact, there are relevant regulations in the law. This is called "emergency avoidance" . The law does not impose any restrictions on people. To put it simply, when you are driving on the road and encounter a wild animal suddenly and have no time to react, we should take "avoidance measures with the least loss" at this time.
If killing a wild animal can minimize the accident, then you can hit it, call the police immediately afterwards, and never run away, so that you do not need to bear legal responsibility.
However, the premise is that you are not driving drunk or speeding, otherwise you may face compensation. Of course, remember never to keep a killed wild animal as your own.
A ridiculous thing also happened in reality. When the driver Mr. Chen was driving through the Cangnan section of the G15 Shenhai Expressway in June 2018, a wild boar suddenly jumped out of the roadside. Mr. Chen was unable to avoid it and hit it to death. Afterwards, Mr. Chen did the right thing and chose to call the police instead of escaping.
After the traffic police handled the matter according to the procedures, Mr. Chen suddenly proposed to take away the wild boar. The reason was that his car was also deformed in the collision, and the wild boar would cover the repair cost.
Obviously Mr. Chen's request cannot be met, because wild boars are nationally protected animals and the driver has no right to take away. They can only be dragged away from the scene by the traffic police and then handed over to the forest police for final harmless treatment.
As mentioned before, as the ecology improves, more and more wild animals will "take to the road". Therefore, when we drive through mountainous areas or roads where wild animals are present, we must pay special attention, and at the same time, the speed of the vehicle must be appropriately reduced, and we must not drive fatigued, etc.
When facing emergencies such as wild animals escaping, if there are other better ways to deal with them, don't hit them. If you really have no choice, you can hit them, but remember: calls the police in time, don't run away, and don't steal , otherwise you may face jail.
