12-Year-Old Boy Narrowly Escapes Leopard Attack By Piercing Its Eye With His Thumb

A 12-year-old boy on Monday escaped a leopard attack after piercing the animal’s eye with his fingers in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. The boy sustained injuries on his shoulders and was taken to a hospital where he is recuperating.

The incident happened near Kadakola, a town in the Mysuru district, according to local media reports. The boy was attacked when he was feeding a cow at his farmhouse. The animal, which was in hiding, pounced on the boy and bit his shoulder.

The 12-year-old screamed for help and pierced the leopard’s eye with his thumb. Suddenly, the animal released the boy and escaped into the bushes, local reports said.

The attack reportedly happened in the presence of the boy’s father, who rushed him to a hospital.

The incident ignited protests, with residents demanding that the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited clear the bushes, which have become hideouts for leopards.

This is not the first time a leopard attack was reported from the state.

A leopard stole a three-year-old boy from his house in Karnataka last year and the child's half-eaten body was later recovered from nearby bushes. The animal sneaked into a house and picked up the boy. Residents said that the door of the house was kept open because of the summer heat.

The forest department had then launched an investigation and set up a trap to nab the leopard.

In March last year, a toddler was mauled by a leopard and dragged away from her home. She was playing in the front yard when the animal attacked her. Her disfigured body was later found a few meters from her home.

In another horrific incident, a 10-year-old girl was attacked and dragged away by a leopard in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh last year in October. The girl was walking with her two friends when the big cat suddenly appeared from the bushes and attacked her. The animal then dragged her away. The friends alerted the villagers, who in turn informed the forest officials. The girl's partially eaten body was later found in a sugarcane field following hours of search.