Leopards are wild animals and live in their natural habitats in forests. However, in a sad state of affairs, many of these big cats are seen on the streets, in villages and even around tourist spots nowadays. These growing incidents of these wild animals wandering on the streets have created fear in the minds of people. In a shocking incident, a leopard pounced on a sleeping dog in Maharashtra. The now-viral video has surprised many on the internet and has raised questions about the common appearances of animals in urban areas.
The video was shared by user Neha Panchamiya on Twitter. In the CCTV footage, a man can be seen sleeping on a cot while a stray dog is seen sleeping next to him on the road with a few trucks lined up. A few minutes later, a leopard is seen entering the scene and taking a stroll. Further in the video, the leopard moves towards the area where two drums are kept and spots a dog sleeping there. It picks up the dog and runs to leave the spot. The man realises that something is unusual once the dog starts barking. He is left shocked after he witnesses the leopard running with the dog in his mouth.
"What leopards in agricultural landscapes of western Maharashtra thrive on and bring them SO close to humans = safe shelter in dense sugarcane fields, banana plantations etc. and free-ranging dogs as a common source of food. This leopard knew exactly what he was after. While the man's muted reaction cracked me up for a minute, I cannot imagine the shock he must've felt once he realised what a close encounter he just had! Source: CCTV footage - Junnar, viz. WhatsApp," reads the caption of the post.
Since being shared, the post has amassed two lakh views and a thousand likes.
"A leopard's equivalent of human migration from rural to urban areas.Leopards, being highly adaptable, might be coping with it "better" than other animals like elephants, wolves, etc. Wish India's wildlife have better times with greater green cover & corridors for movement," said a user.
"His fuses went blank after knowing what happened," said another user.
A third person said, "I seen this many time during childhood. Instead of dogs they taken goats from our village."
