A 39-year-old goat grazer from Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district managed to kill a female leopard with a sickle while attacked by a wild cat while grazing goats withinside the village. “If I hadn’t hit it with the sickle to defend myself, I wouldn’t be alive today,” stated Naresh Singh Saun of Naini-Saini village.
“The leopard emerged from the trees and pounced on one of the goats. I attempted to force it away by making noise. But the leopard left the goat and all of sudden jumped closer to me. I was first of all petrified. But then I realised that if I didn’t act, I could be dead,” stated Saun.
Saun stated he hit it with the sickle he was carrying and it worked. “The injured leopard fled however fell subconscious a long way away. The head wound from the sickle brought about its death,” he stated.
Saun stated this was the first time that he came across a leopard even as grazing goats considering his childhood. The forest branch had been instructed that Saun killed the leopard in self-defence.
“Villagers revealed that if Saun hadn’t resisted with a sickle in self-defence, the leopard could have killed him. Wildlife Protection Act 1972 offers a few remedies in such instances wherein no alternative is left for a person for his very own safety from wild animals,” stated Joshi, the ranger.
Saun stated he was amazed that the attack occurred withinside the village and is now no longer in a forest. “It was by no means my purpose to kill the leopard however it happened all of sudden as I was trying to save my life,” stated Saun.