Unless you’re hiking through the jungles of India or going on early morning safaris, the chances of you crossing by a leopard are pretty slim—especially if you’re in one of the largest and most populated metropolitan cities in the world.
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That being said, the chances may be slim, but they’re certainly not impossible.
Cat attack
On Wednesday 29 September in Mumbai, a 55-year-old woman was sitting outside when ayoung leopard pounced on her from behind. With one swift jab, the leopard pushed the woman to the ground, but the lady also put up a fight. The only weapon she had by her side was her walking stick, so she grabbed it and started swinging it at the big cat—talk about survival instincts kicking in. After a couple of strikes here and there, the leopard gave up and walked away.
The entire terrifying encounter was caught on the CCTV camera in her house, and now the video has been spreading like wildfire on the internet.
Although the woman survived the attack, The Independent reports that she did sustain multiple minor injuries, including scratches on her face, elbow, arm, back and leg.
Rising incidents
The woman lived in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony, which is right next to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). This space is home to all sorts of animals, including deer, different species of monkeys, and also leopards. According to SGNP, there is normally enough prey to keep the leopards satisfied inside the park itself, however in recent years the cats have been venturing outside their territory and into nearby residential areas. This is also because of construction projects that have been encroaching their natural habitat.
Consequently, there have been an increasing number of stray dogs and humans that are being hunted by the wild beasts. In this week alone, the attack on the elderly woman was the third that occurred in the area. Two boys, aged three and four, were also attacked by leopards, but they were both rescued.
