Teen fends off Leopard cub

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A 16-year-old boy from Sasegaon in Kannad tehsil saved himself from a leopard cub by striking it with an iron bucket.

The incident took place on Friday evening when Omkar Ghughe had gone to his field to feed his livestock. While gathering silage, a six-month-old leopard cub suddenly leapt at him from the front. Omkar hit the cub on its head with the bucket he was carrying and managed to scare it away. The encounter lasted nearly five minutes. Omkar suffered claw marks on his chest and body but escaped with minor injuries. “As soon as we got the call, we visited Omkar’s house and recorded the incident. He is safe now, and our forest team is patrolling the area,” said Shivaji Tompe, forest range officer, Kannad.