The leopard did not attack the villagers.
- A two-year-old female leopard was found sick and immobile near Ramgarh Visdhari Tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan
- Villagers tied a scarf as a leash around the leopard and took selfies while the animal remained still
- The forest department rescued the leopard and shifted it to Kota zoo for medical treatment
A two-year-old Leopard, sick and unable to move, was paraded on a leash after it was spotted by villagers at the Ramgarh Visdhari Tiger sanctuary near Rajasthan's Bundi. The female leopard appeared to be scared, and its fur was wet following heavy rain in the district. Soon, a crowd gathered around the animal, which was crouching near the Babool tree.
The leopard did not attack the villagers. People surrounded the animal with sticks and mobile phones in their hands and started taking selfies with the sick leopard. The leopard lay still; it did not move, and the crowd around it kept increasing.
A video showed a man wearing a blue shirt and sunglasses standing in front of the leopard, which was as still as a rock. He took his phone out and clicked a picture. The outcome of this act could have been different for the man had the circumstances been different, but the leopard did not growl or snarl. Then, another man in a black shirt sat on his knees and clicked a selfie with the sick animal, which could barely move.
Another video showed a man holding the scarf like a leash, and the animal circles at one position while villagers surrounded it, recorded videos and clicked pictures and paraded the sick animal.
But the villagers came to the animal's rescue. The forest department arrived at the spot and saw that the villagers had tied a scarf around the leopard's neck like a dog leash and were clicking selfies. The animals were shifted to the Kota zoo for treatment.
Forest officials told NDTV the leopard is a two-year-old female, with no external injuries.
Sumit Kanojiya, the ranger at Bundi's Ramgarh Visdhari Reserve, said, "When we heard a leopard was injured, we reached the spot and rescued the animal. It has been given medical treatment at Bundi and then taken to the Kota zoo for proper medical attention. It appears there is some internal condition, as there are no injury marks on the leopard's body "
Rampuria is one of the dozen villages still located inside the sanctuary, which was notified for relocation after Ramgarh Visdhari was declared a tiger reserve in 2021.
It has 7 tigers, including the female cub of Arrowhead Kankati from Ranthambore, who had become infamous for killing a 7-year-old pilgrim in April and a forest ranger in May this year. Kankati has been recently relocated to Ramgarh Vishdari.
