Karnataka: Man Saves ‘Dehydrated’ Leopard’s Life, Takes It to Veterinary Care on Two-wheeler – News18

As a new spate of leopard-human conflicts has arisen in several parts of the country causing concern and panic among people, a heartwarming incident has come to the fore from Karnataka where a man saved the life of a “dehydrated” leopard found lying in a field.

A 25-year-old man named Venugopal aka Muttu, from Bagivalu village near Arsikere taluk in Hassan district, spotted the leopard lying unconsciously on the corner of a farm on Friday. After observing the animal for some time, he approached it and realised it was too exhausted to move.

Sensing the deteriorated condition of the leopard, he gathered some courage and picked up the animal, tied it to his two-wheeler and rode towards the village.

Astounded to see Venugopal coming with the leopard tied on his bike, the villagers immediately alerted forest officials, who tracked him and then took the ailing the big cat to a government veterinary hospital in their vehicles.

Times of India quoted Hassan DCF Ashish Reddy as saying, “The leopard is around nine-month-old and must have strayed into the village seeking food which led to dehydration.”

When asked about the way Venugopal tied the leopard on his bike and brought to village, the officer said no action will be taken against him as there was no criminal intent behind it and the condition of the leopard was stable.

“Our staff members have given him advice on what needs to be done about noticing wild creatures in the area,” he was quoted as saying.

Conflicts between humans and animals often come to the news. In a connected but separate event, people have reported sighting of a leopard at a Zilla Parishad-run school in Bavda village in Maharashtra’s Palghar.

Frequent sighting of a leopard has triggered panic at a village in the district with the local authorities asking the residents, especially children and elderly people, not to step out of houses after sunset, officials said on Saturday.

On July 3, a woman was mauled to death by a leopard in the Sukhidhang area in Uttarakhand. An official had said that the incident was reported from Dhura village and the deceased identified as Chandravati. The district administration official added that the leopard attacked some women who were going to a forest to collect fodder for their livestock. The leopard dragged Chandravati away, the official had said, adding that the other women escaped and informed villagers.

(with inputs from PTI)