Leopard barges into liquor store in India, mauls worker in terrifying video
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A screengrab from a security camera showing a leopard pouncing on 25-year-old salesman Sanjay Gurjar.
PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM REAL JESSE HOLGUIN/FACEBOOK
- A stray leopard injured three people in Rajasthan, India, and was trapped inside a liquor store by a quick-thinking clerk.
- Wildlife officers tranquillised the leopard after over five hours, and it was rescued safely to be released in a suitable habitat.
- The incident highlights habitat loss for leopards, forcing them into more frequent encounters with humans, causing panic and injuries.
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A stray leopard injured three people and ransacked a liquor store on July 20 before being trapped inside by a quick-thinking clerk in Rajasthan, an Indian state about an eight-hour drive from the capital New Delhi.
The leopard was first spotted in bushes near a market in Toda Raisingh, in Tonk district, according to several reports by media outlets in India.
Leopard movement had been reported in a forested area nearby days before the incident, and leopards were spotted near temples on the town’s outskirts, India Today reported.
The animal attacked a forest volunteer when he approached to assess the situation, then fled about half a kilometre and entered a liquor store.
It then attacked a contract worker sitting near the counter before lunging at a salesman and injuring him in the face, chest and shoulders.
The salesman managed to break free, and both men ran outside and pulled down the store’s shutters, trapping the leopard among the bottles and preventing it from returning to the street, The Times of India reported.
Wildlife officers arrived from Jaipur and tranquilised the leopard at about 2pm, ending more than five hours of panic.
The forest volunteer was treated and discharged, while the liquor store employees were sent to Jaipur for further treatment.
The Times of India reported that the leopard was rescued safely and will be released in a suitable habitat.
Some who have seen the video found humour in it.
“Obviously, he wanted a bottle,” one commented.
But most were glad that neither the store clerk nor the leopard was seriously injured.
“This is happening because leopards are losing their habitat,” said another. “As forests are cleared, they have less space to find shelter and prey, forcing them into increasingly frequent encounters with people.”
