Leopard Shot after 8 hour of drama
Two bullets at point-blank range brought to an end the battle between a township on the edge and a big cat that strayed in and didn’t know how to escape.
A quiet town near Pune turned into a battlefield between man and animal as a leopard that had unfortunately strayed in, sparked off panic and attacked several people before being killed by two bullets from a cop’s service revolver, reports Mumbai Mirror.
It was just another lazy Sunday afternoon for the 60,000 residents of Karad town, about 160 km from Pune. Until someone spotted “something that looked like a leopard” perched on a tin roof of a house in a dusty bylane that houses the city post office area in Somwar Peth around 1 pm.
“I wasn’t sure if I had seen right. I thought it could be a cat or a dog,” said a villager, gesticulating animatedly at how all hell broke loose after the young male leopard was discovered. A few locals were sounded off and word spread like wild fire.
“I thought they were joking about a leopard in our town,” local businessman Ashok Apte. “There was pandemonium like we’ve never witnessed before,” said a woman from the town.
By now, the petrified animal had slid into an empty house. “A few people hurled stones inside and the leopard came out and started attacking anyone who came before him,” said resident Vasant Devdige. The animal leapt out of its hideout, growling wildly. “It was scared out of its wits due to the din and chaos around.”
At the sight of the animal, the people who had gathered around scurried to safety.
Cornered and confused, the leopard went on an attacking spree, targeting whoever came its way. Six villagers became the target of its fury. Sachin Mane (29), Hanumant Mane (42), Rahul Jirange (29), Riyaz Mulla (29), Sachin Kamble (25) and Sanjay Mali (30) escaped with injuries on their face, neck and shoulders.
The police had been informed by now and initially, the cops fired two rounds in the air to scare the leopard.
“When this did not help, they used sticks and stones to attack the leopard,” said another villager who watched the drama that lasted for a little over 30 minutes. “That’s when the animal pounced on Hanumant Mane, who was just stepping out of a beer bar, pinning him down at a street corner.”
It was then that API Vikas Dhas rushed in and shot the leopard at close range with his service revolver.
The leopard’s carcass was shifted to the local veterinary hospital where a post-mortem took place late in the afternoon. As the crowds surged to take a peek at the dead animal, the police had to resort to a mild lathicharge.
Karad forest range officer N A Patil said efforts should have been made to save the wild cat. But Karad residents claim they had informed forest officers but no one turned up to their aid. Patil said an inquiry will be conducted into the incident based on eye witness accounts.
Wildlife biologist Vidya Athreya said, “If a leopard strays into human territory its first instinct is to find a place to hide. However, what happens usually is that a mob gathers around the animal and attacks it. This provokes the animal, which attacks in self-defense.”
• I love animals and didn’t want to kill the leopard. But I had to choose between saving the life of the man or the animal
- API Vikas Dhas, who shot the leopard
• Caught in a state of shock and fright, the leopard was only trying to escape and attacked anyone who came in its way
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