Battle for survival! Man kills leopard with bare hands to save his family
A man from Karnataka ended up being badly wounded after he was in a one-on-one battle with a leopard while trying to protect his family.
A real life story of a man from Karnataka who managed to strangle a leopard to death in order to save his family has got social media in a spin.
Read: WATCH: Hyenas, a leopard, and wild dogs battle for an impala kill
Rajagopal Naik, the man of the moment, is a resident of Bendekere village in Arasikere Taluk. He and his family (wife and child) were riding on a motorbike back home when the leopard came out of nowhere and leapt at them from behind the bushes.
With everything happening so fast, Naik was left with no time to think. He was forced to fight for his family's survival. With adrenaline pumping, he managed to strangle and kill the leopard.
The leopard was able to get ahold of the the child, biting his leg and also tried to attack the wife, but Rajagopal could not stand there and watch his family be taken away from him, so he did what any man would - he showed his bravery and grabbed the animal by its neck and hit it on the head.
During the battle for survival, the leopard tried to break free and swiped at him, but he did not let go of the hold around its neck. Rajagopal managed to grab the leopard’s neck tighter and eventually it died from suffocation.
Watch the viral video of the slaying of the leopard below:
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
In the video, it shows that Rajagopal did suffer several injuries on his face and forehead from the fight.
When they reported the incident, the Deputy Conservator of Forest (Hassan division) K.N. Basavaraj said:
The leopard pounced at them from behind the bushes, along a Bendekere village road, forcing them to fall off their bike and caught the woman’s leg. Fearing for their life, both man and his daughter raised an alarm, villagers working in nearby fields immediately gathered and attacked the leopard and killed it
Surprisingly, this was not the only incident that the leopard was involved in because the DCF further added that the slain leopard had earlier attacked a mother and a son in the Bhovi colony of Byragondanahalli, which is just five km away from Bendekere.
This leopard had attacked mother and son on Monday and after this incident came to light, the forest department had laid nets and traps to capture this animal. During this process, it had attacked our veterinary doctor too, when he was taking aim at the creature to capture it alive. After attacking our doctor it managed to escape
From all these incidents it is presumed that the leopard was perhaps hungry, tired, thirsty, and weak, as it was being tracked for the past few days.
Prima facie investigations reveal that the leopard had been attacked with sickle also as there were two or three cut marks visible on its body. We are yet to receive an autopsy report and the real cause of death can only be ascertained based on this report
Thank goodness for the bravery of Rajagopal Naik because he was able to save himself and his family.
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
The forest department has registered a case and a further investigation is on.
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