A man in Karnataka’s Haasan district fought off and killed a leopard that had attacked him and his family, according to reports in local media. Rajagopal Naik, a resident of Arasikere taluk in Hassan district, was travelling home on a motorcycle with his wife Chandramma and their child Kiran, when a leopard leapt at them from the bushes.
The leopard started to bite Kiran’s leg and also tried to attack Chandramma. Rajagopal grabbed the animal by its neck and started to hit its head with his elbow, Asianet reported. The leopard tried to break free and in the process, swiped at Rajagopal. However, Rajagopal did not let go and tightened his hold around the leopard’s neck. The leopard later died of suffocation. Rajagopal also suffered injuries to his face and forehead in the scuffle.
Visuals from the spot show Rajagopal, with a bloody forehead, sitting next to the corpse of the leopard. Several locals had gathered at the spot of the incident. The visuals show Rajagopal being handed water by those who had gathered. Rajagopal and his family were later taken to a hospital for treatment. Watch a video from the spot:
Warning: Visuals may be graphic for some
How far will you go to protect your family? Rajagopal from Karnataka’s Hassan district fought off a cheetah &killed it with bare hands when it attacked them. The family was driving on their bike through a forest area when it pounced on them and attacked. #Survival? #KeepFighting pic.twitter.com/pvHdZqfrvb
— Revathi (@revathitweets) February 24, 2021
Forest officials were also called to the spot and the body of the leopard was taken away. The body has been sent to a veterinary hospital for an autopsy. Asianet reported that an alert has been sounded in the area as there have been reports of big cats attacking livestock.
This is the second incident in the past two days from Karnataka of an animal-human conflict where a leopard has attacked a resident. On Monday, in Mysuru district, a 12-year-old boy escaped a leopard attack after reportedly piercing the animal’s eye with his finger. According to reports, the leopard, which was hiding nearby, pounced on Nandan while he was feeding his cows and the 12-year-old, in an act of self-defence, poked the leopard’s eye with his finger, causing the leopard to run away back into the bushes.
According to reports, Nandan Kumar managed to escape the attack miraculously but suffered bites on his neck and shoulders as the leopard had attacked him.
A leopard was also seen entering a residential apartment complex in Bengaluru recently. A team from the Forest Department captured the leopard from near an apartment off the Begur-Koppa road in the city. Another leopard was sighted inside a tourist spot Brindavan Gardens in Krishna Raja Sagara reservoir in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district last Thursday.
Earlier this month, visuals of a dog and a leopard getting stuck inside a toilet in Karnataka had gone viral. The dog miraculously was rescued alive after seven hours and the leopard managed to run away.