Gujarat man fights leopard barehanded to save daughters from jaws of death

VADODARA: This braveheart labourer from Dahod turned out to be a true claimant of the tag: 'Dad of the year'! The way he ferociously protected the lives of his two girls from a predating leopard, has not only been applauded by villagers but also amazed the foresters too.
The rare act of Ankil Damor was not just an act of bravery, but also one that gave his minor daughters a new lease of life. The incident occurred in Fulpur village in the wee hours on Sunday morning when the feline entered their house at around 3am.
Damor and his daughters were sleeping in the kuccha house, said forest officials.
"He went out of the house to answer nature's call leaving the door open. When he walked back within a few minutes, Damor was bewildered to see a leopard holding his three-year-old daughter Vansha in its jaws," said Prashant Tomar, assistant conservator of forest, Devgadh Baria.
Dazed, Damor instinctively lunged towards the leopard that was trying to escape from the door. But the father stood like a rock in its path and the feline was forced to drop Vansha, but it soon caught five-year-old Kavya, who was sleeping nearby, in its jaws.
Both girls receive injuries on head, face; hospitalized
Dazed, Damor instinctively lunged towards the leopard that was trying to escape from the door. But the father stood like a rock in its path and the feline was forced to drop Vansha, but it soon caught five-year-old Kavya, who was sleeping nearby, in its jaws.
This time, however, the wild cat managed to escape with a wailing child in its jaws, but the father was relentlessly in pursuit. He followed the cat right through the dark forest and caught up with it.
"Damor caught up with the leopard and battled it bare-handedly to save his child amid the pitch darkness. It was a tremendously daring act to take on a wild cat in its territory," Tomar told TOI.
After jostling with it for a few seconds, Damor threw a piece of cloth on the leopard, which made it panic. It dropped the girl from its jaws before disappearing in the bushes nearby. Hearing the screams, the neighbours too rushed to Damor's house.
Damor suffered minor injuries in the scuffle but, as they say, all's well that ends well.
"Both the girls suffered injuries on their face and head and are admitted to the hospital for treatment," said Tomar,adding that a team of forest officials also reached the spot and kept cages in the village to trap the rogue animal.