Man Tries Taking Close-Up Photo Of Leopard, Gets Attacked And Severely Injured By Animal

A man in India suffered severe injuries to his leg after he was attacked by a leopard while trying to take a picture of the animal. The incident took place near the Kharjan tea estate of Dibrugarh, in the northeastern state of Assam.

The wild animal ventured into the area from the woods nearby and had taken shelter in a culvert on Chabua bypass. The news of a leopard in the area spread fast after passersby spotted it, prompting more people to throng the area to catch a glimpse of the animal.

The unidentified man, a daily wage laborer, was returning from Dhakuakhana when he heard about the leopard sighting and reached the spot to click pictures. At one point, the man is said to have gone too close to the animal which resulted in the attack, NDTV reported.

"The man tried to take a close-up photo of the leopard. Suddenly, the leopard attacked and injured him. He suffered injuries on his leg," a resident told NDTV.

A video of the incident has since gone viral. It showed people running in different directions as the leopard charged toward them. The man who angered the animal was left with critical injuries to his leg and back, The Times of India (TOI) reported.

The injured man said he lost his mobile phone in the mayhem. "I thought of getting a close-up photo of the leopard to show to my friends. I didn't know that the leopard would attack me. Luckily, I escaped but lost my mobile phone," he told the outlet.

Later, a team from the Tinsukia forest department tranquilized and took the leopard away in a cage.

"After getting information about the leopard, a team from Tinsukia forest department reached the spot. We tranquilized the leopard and took him to Tinsukia. Following a health check-up, it will be released into the wild," said Khanin Changmai, a vet with the Wildlife Trust of India, as per TOI.

A forest officer told NDTV that an "alarming" rise in man-animal conflict has been reported in the area after wild animals started straying into human habitat due to the shrinking of forests. "Due to the shrinking of forest cover, more and more incidents of man-animal conflict are taking place," the officer told NDTV.