Karnataka: Leopard pounces on family returning home, man grabs him by neck and strangles to death (VIDEO)
Video from the spot show Rajagopal, with a bloody forehead, sitting next to the corpse of the animal. Several locals gathered around the spot of the incident. The visuals show people giving water to Rajagopal.
In Karnataka’s Haasan district, a man fought off and killed a leopard that attacked him and his family, according to reports by local media. Rajagopal Naik, a resident of Arasikere area in Hassan district, was going home on a bike with his wife Chandramma and their child Kiran. Suddenly, a leopard leapt at them from the bushes.
(Image Courtesy: The NewsMinute)
According to Asianet, the leopard caught Kiran’s leg and started to bite it, then he tried to attack Chandramma. Seeing this, Rajagopal grabbed the leopard by its neck and started to hit him in the head with his elbow. The leopard struggled to free himself and in the process, swiped at Rajagopal. However, Rajagopal held on and tightened his hold around the leopard’s neck. That led to leopard’s death due to suffocation. Rajagopal suffered injuries to his face and forehead in the tussle.
Video from the spot show Rajagopal, with a bloody forehead, sitting next to the corpse of the animal. Several locals gathered around the spot of the incident. The visuals show people giving water to Rajagopal. Rajagopal and his family were later taken to the nearest hospital for treatment.
Watch the video here:
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 arrived at the spot to take away the corpse of the leopard. The body has been sent to a veterinary hospital for an autopsy. An alert has been sounded in the region as several reports have been reported of big cats attacking livestock. This is the second incident in the past two days from Karnataka of an animal-human conflict.
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 was hiding nearby and pounced on Nandan while he was feeding his cows. So in self-defence, the 12-year-old poked the leopard’s eye with his finger, causing the leopard to run away.
According to reports, Nandan Kumar managed to escape the attack but suffered bites on his neck and shoulders as the leopard 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. Last Thursday, another leopard was seen inside Brindavan Gardens, a tourist spot in Krishna Raja Sagara reservoir located in Srirangapatna region of Mandya district.
Karnataka man’s heroics applauded on social media:
Okay, I see a lot of #Georgekutty comparisons! All of us are in #Drushyam2 hangover?. But yes, this man fought for his family.Also-am no animal expert, got info saying it is చిరుతపులి, so said cheetah. Some are saying it is a leopard. Whatever the animal, the fight is laudable??
— Revathi (@revathitweets) February 24, 2021
Real Life George Kutty ?THE HERO ? Will Do anything to save Family? #Drishyam2
— #Stayhome #Staysafe (@aakb4002) February 24, 2021
— kumar (@crazyyjohns) February 24, 2021