This dog is not all bark and no bite. While the humans slept, a brave pet pooch fought off a hungry leopard that jumped a fence into its backyard.
The animal showdown, captured on home security cameras, happened in Una, a city in the Gujarat state of India. The coronavirus pandemic prompted a countrywide lockdown beginning March 25, and animal sightings in urban areas have become increasingly common since then.
On the night of April 10, the panther broke in to the backyard of Mahesh Bamania’s bungalow. The 36-second footage obtained by NewsFlare opens with a dog apparently sleeping in the tiled backyard area of Bamania’s home.
Then, the big-toothed predator is shown climbing over a wall, landing in the enclosure and quickly lunging at the pooch. For 15 seconds, the two courageous mammals wrestle for victory over the backyard.
Eventually, the leopard is startled by something much more frightening than a dog: traffic.
“It is the first time that I have realized that my house is prone to visits by the big cats,” Bamania tells the Times of India.
The cat was reportedly captured by rangers the following night.
Vira Chawda, officer for Nava Bandar, India, says, “The moment we received a complaint, we set up a cage with a live bait in it.”
“The leopard entered the cage, lured by the bait, and got trapped,” Chawda explains.
Local reports did not confirm the dog’s condition following the altercation.
Leopards are not uncommon in Gujarat, where their population has increased by more than 30 percent between 2006 and 2017, from a total of 1,070 cats to 1,395, according to a 2017 census. Between 2018 and 2019, there were 53 leopard attacks in the Gir Somnath district, were Una is located.