10-yr-old humbles leopard in battle for grandmother’s life

VADODARA: It was a tug of war between the devil and the deep sea for this valiant 10-year-old girl, who was determined not to let a ferocious leopard win over its prey — her grandmother — who was trapped in its jaws.
While the battle lasted a couple of minutes in a remote hamlet in Dahod late on Tuesday night, forest officials commended the bravery of Hiral Chauhan, who despite her frail frame took on the mighty cat and managed to save her grandmother’s life.

“The girl, who studies in Class 5 was sleeping next to her 59-year-old grandmother, Champa Chauhan, outside their home in Pada village of Limkheda taluka. A leopard sneaked up to the woman and grabbed her head in its jaws. Chauhan screamed out of pain which woke up her granddaughter. The leopard started to drag the woman away, but Hiral defiantly clung on to her while screaming for help,” said RM Parmar, deputy conservator of forests (DCB), Devgadh Baria.
“After a brief duel of will between the girl and the feline, the wild cat finally let go off Chauhan even as neighbours rushed in for help. Chauhan survived with severe injuries on her head, thanks to the brave act by her garndaughter,” Parmar told TOI.
However, the ravenous cat was in the mood for more hunting.
About half-a-kilometre away, it attacked a 43-year-old man in the same village who too was sleeping outside his house. Hearing Ramesh Chauhan’s cries, the neighbours rushed to the spot following which the leopard escaped. But Chauhan, who suffered severe injuries on his neck, died during treatment.
“The feline then preyed on a goat nearby and took his prize up a tree to eat in peace. We found the half-eaten carcass on the tree on Wednesday morning. In summer, water sources in the forest dry up, so it’s possible that the leopard came out of the forest as it was thirsty and it then decided to hunt in the dark,” Parmar added.
The forest officials have kept cages in and around Pada village to trap the killer leopard. This is the second such incident in the last four days in Limkheda. In the early hours of May 21, a leopard had attacked two girls sleeping in their house in Fulpur village. The girls’ father took on the leopard and saved his daughters. “We are not sure if this is the same leopard who attacked the Chauhans,” Parmar said.