Terrifying moment snarling leopard mauls wildlife rescuer after attacking three people inside their home in central India
- The leopard escaped from the Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary in central India
- The animal pounced on the man as rescuers tried to contain it on a building site
- The animal injured five people including a police officer involved in its captureThis is the moment a rogue leopard pounced on a man as wildlife officials chased the big cat on a building site in central India.
The leopard had strayed into the residential area after escaping from a nearby wildlife sanctuary yesterday.
Footage captures the moment the leopard pounces on the man wearing a green helmet - while petrified onlookers watch from higher ground.
This is the moment a construction worker is attacked by a leopard which escaped from the Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary in central India
The man was one of five people who was injured by the wild animal before it was recaptured
Footage after the incident showed another man suffered deep lacerations caused by the animal
The big cat can be heard snarling as it grabs the man by the shoulder - who then manages to wrestle the leopard off before running away.The construction worker is later seen walking away from the incident - wincing in pain as he holds his bloody shoulder.
The leopard had strayed from the Ralamandal Wildlife Sanctuary towards the central Indian Madhya Pradesh state on March 11.
One police officer involved in the recapture of the animal was also wounded
The worker tried unsuccessfully to flee the lightening quick animal
One of the man's colleagues filmed the struggle from an upper level of the construction site
Fortunately, none of the men attacked by the wild animal were seriously injured
The leopard also attacked three people inside a house.
Locals alerted the forest officials, who swung into action and initiated a rescue operation.
The leopard injured five people in total - including a policeman involved in the rescue operation.
Dr Utttam Yadav of the forest department’s Tiger Force was tasked with capturing the big cat.
His team were armed with tranquiliser darts and a net, however the leopard was able to avoid capture.
He told the Times of India: ‘We spotted the leopard, which is likely aroun five years old, on on four occasions but it kept running and this, we couldn’t target it ifor tranquilisation. The winld animal even attqacked our vehicles as it was very agile and immediately ran away from sight.
‘It is likely the leopard is somewhere amidst the standing crops of whet. We have advised locals not to come out of their homes at night. Meanwhile, we have installed search lights and have deployed guards to help search for the leopard, while two trap-cages have been installed at the spot.
He added: ‘There is a scarcity of food in jungle near residential areas, while increasing human intervention in the forest is also a big reason for wild animals entering the city and posing threats to human beings.’
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