A brave pet dog fought off a leopard after it was attacked outside a home in an Indian city during the coronavirus lockdown.
The attack happened in Una, Gujarat, a city of 130,000 people, amid reports of wild animals taking advantage of the lack of human presence to city streets.
Mahesh Bamania owns the bungalow where the attack occurred and captured the moment on CCTV, but was not aware that big cats were common in the area.
A leopard attacks a dog in a home in Una, Gujarat, India, as an increase in wild animals have been seen roaming the deserted streets during coronavirus lockdown
The leopard spots the dog after it jumps over Mahesh Bamania’s bungalow yard wall and immediately pounces at the pet
In the 36-second film, the dog is lying down in the yard before a noise alerts him to a possible intruder and he begins pacing around the yard.
Moments later, the huge leopard climbs over the wall and pounces into the yard before it notices the dog.
It immediately lunges at the pet, pinning it down by the throat and dragging it to the middle of the yard, where they wrestle for more than 15 seconds.
The dog wags its tail to try and appease the huge predator and the leopard is eventually scared away by the sound of a passing car.
The animals wrestle for more than 15 seconds in the middle of the yard, while the dog wags its tail to try and appease the leopard
The big cat eventually lets go after it hears a passing car and jumps back out of the yard, disappearing into the night
Mr Bamania said: ‘It is the first time that I have realised that my house is prone to visit from big cats.’
He told the Times of India he had alerted the forest department.
The attack happened on April 10 and the big cat was caught by forest officers the following evening.
Forest officer for Nava Bandar Vira Chawda said: ‘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.’
It is not clear whether the dog survived its injuries.
Male Indian leopards can grow up to 4ft 8in long. The population of leopards in Gujarat grew 30 per cent up to 1,395 in 2017
The leopard population of Gujarat increased by more than 30 per cent from 1,070 in 2006 to 1,395 in 2017 according to a 2017 census.
There were 53 leopard attacks in the Gir Somnath district in 2018 and 2019, where Una is located, and males of the species can grow up to 4ft 8in long.
An additional 1,553 cases of coronavirus were recorded in India yesterday, taking the national total above 17,000 with at least 543 people dying from the disease.
The country has been in lockdown since March 24 and epidemiologists forecast the infection peak may not be reached before June.