Leopard Attack Leaves Tourist With Torn Scalp, Other Severe Injuries During Vacation In Africa

A German couple on an African vacation was attacked Wednesday by a leopard while they slept in their vehicle.

Hardy Specker, 61, and his partner Petra Windmeisser, 60, had stopped to take a rest in Kuiseb Canyon, Namibia, when around 1 a.m. they were awoken by scratching sounds on their camper.

Specker got up to shut the window when a leopard jumped up on the side of the van and grabbed hold of his head with its claws, regional publication the Nambian reported.

"The struggle went on for some minutes until Hardy eventually managed to stick his fingers into the leopard's eye, which caused it to let go," Windmeisser told the paper. "Then I managed to pull him back inside."

The leopard had torn Specker’s scalp and shredded the skin on his shoulders and arms with its sharp claws. The man also suffered a laceration to his throat.

"There was blood everywhere and he was bleeding profusely," she added. "I tried to stop the bleeding and at the same time made a phone call from our satellite phone to the emergency services to come save us. There was no reception and he was losing a lot of blood."

Although the animal had released the man, it continued to prowl around the roof and the side of the van. The couple was forced to wait until dawn when farmers arrived and scared the leopard away.

Around 7 a.m. they flagged down a vehicle on the side of the road and were rescued by tourist lodge worker Wilfred Andreas, who took them to a nearby medical facility.

The man was admitted to Welwitschia Private Hospital in Walvis Bay, where he underwent emergency surgery for his injuries.

"The man was severely injured and the truck was covered in blood on the inside and outside," Andreas said. "The whole scene was strange with blood high up on the truck close to the window and deep scratch marks on the aluminum body of the vehicle caused during the attack."

He added: "The fact that the leopard attacked the man and the vehicle can only mean it was wounded by someone who shot it and my fear is if the animal is in the vicinity and still alive it could attack again."

Leopards are considered one of the strongest animals in Africa but nimble enough to hunt from trees. In the wild, their spots act as a camouflage to help them pounce on unsuspecting prey.