- A 12-year-old boy was clawed by a leopard during a safari at Bannerghatta Biological Park
- The boy had his hand outside the safari vehicle's meshed window when the leopard attacked
- The incident occurred in a non-AC bus safari, where windows were kept open for ventilation
In a chilling incident that could have turned deadly, a 12-year-old boy was attacked by a leopard during a wildlife safari at Bengaluru's Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) on Friday (Aug 15). The incident took place in the afternoon when the teenager, a resident of Bommasandra, was inside the safari vehicle with his parents on a holiday.
The now-viral video of the incident shows the leopard sitting around the edge of the road as safari vehicles pass. However, the very next moment, the leopard can be seen ambling towards the vehicle and rising up to the window and poking inside.
The boy sitting near the window had kept his hand outside the meshed non-AC safari bus, allowing the leopard to grip his arm with its sharp claws. As the kerfuffle ensued, the safari bus returned to the head office and the boy was rushed to the nearest hospital in Jigani and given immediate medical attention.
Check the viral video here:
A 13-year-old boy was attacked by a leopard at the Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bengaluru on Friday afternoon when the boy was on a safari along with his parents. The leopard attacked the boy through the window of the vehicle when the driver had stoppThe viral video shows a leopard ambling towards the vehicle and rising up to the window and poking inside where the teen was sitting.ed for the visitors to see… pic.twitter.com/K4g7Zu08xL
— Karnataka Portfolio (@karnatakaportf) August 15, 2025
BBP executive director AV Surya Sen said all precautions were being taken to ensure that a similar incident does not take place again.
"The boy was injured during a non-AC bus leopard safari trip at the BBP. The leopard, while climbing up the bus, clawed the boy's hand which was placed in an accessible place," Mr Sen was quoted as saying by The Hindu.
“He was given first aid and was checked for other injuries. Precautions are taken for proper covering of all the windows using mesh, including camera slots, and strict instructions are given to drivers operating non-AC bus safaris."
As per Mr Sen, it was common for the big cats to leap on safari buses and grasp the window mesh. Meanwhile, a medico-legal case was registered against the BBP management.
Though the boy suffered minor wounds due to the animal's claws, the incident could have quickly turned fatal. Social media users demanded strict guidelines during the wildfire safari, including closed windows.
"Don't mess with environment and wild animals," said one user, while another added: "How can parents let the boy keep the windows open. Also, it's the responsibility of the safari guide. What was his job?"
A third commented: "They have this AC and non-AC safari options over here, since it's humid weather, most prefer keeping windows open for ventilation, which then causes such incidents."
