A leopard was seen on CCTV entering a shop in Rajasthan, India, and jumping on a worker who grappled with the big cat while colleagues could be heard screaming.
The wild animal is understood to have wandered from a nearby forest and found its way into the building in Todaraisingh in Rajasthan state last Monday.
CCTV footage shows the attack
Co-workers could first be heard screaming before CCTV footage shows the leopard suddenly come into view and pounce on a man. The big cat jumped on the back of the worker, who was struggling to remove it. He grappled for a while with the powerful feline before managing to shake it off and make a frantic escape by scrambling over a table.
The leopard then remained inside the store, knocking over bottles as it prowled around before authorities arrived at the scene.
Three people injured
It is reported that the leopard injured three people in the area as it ran amok before it was tranquilised and removed from the scene during an almost five-hour operation. The feline – believed to be an adult male aged between four and five – first attacked a forest volunteer before entering a busy market and eventually the liquor shop.
The volunteer, Rakesh Mali, was injured after going to inspect the area when locals spotted the leopard hiding in bushes and alerted him. He suffered leg injuries when the big cat pounced. The second person injured was 40-year-old worker Fateh Lal Koli, who was sitting outside the liquor store. The man seen in the CCTV footage, 25-year-old Sanjay Gurjar, escaped with injuries to his nose, shoulder and hands.
Koli and Gurjar then pulled down the shop’s shutter from outside, trapping the leopard inside the premises. Mali received first aid at the scene, while the two shop workers were taken to a medical centre for treatment.
Leopard population in the area
The forests around Todaraisingh are home to a significant leopard population. Authorities are investigating how the wild animal ended up straying into the urban area.
Leopards are highly dangerous apex predators but generally avoid human contact unless cornered or injured. While they are the least likely of the "big five" cats to launch unprovoked attacks, they are widely considered by wildlife experts to be pound-for-pound the most deadly when threatened.
Adult males weigh up to 90kg and can drag prey twice their own weight up into tree branches to keep it away from scavengers. Leopards reach sprinting speeds of 36mph, can jump 10ft vertically, and can leap 20ft forward.
