June 23
A heart-wrenching video of a leopard struggling to escape from under a car has surfaced online. As the driver pulls the car back to save the wild animal, the leopard is seen being dragged for a moment by the vehicle, before attacking back. Moments later, the injured leopard is again seen running from the scene.
The clip shared by Milind Parivakam, member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, shows the leopard lying under the bonnet of a car. Half of its body is under the car. The driver overturned the car, leaving injury marks visible on the leopard’s back. The leopard vibrates loudly and after the driver reverses the car forward, it crosses the road. Then the leopard is seen jumping from the wall of the opposite direction.
That’s what we are doing for our wildlife. It is a simple matter of poor planning. More importantly, we are making roads unsafe for citizens. @OfficeOfNG @MORTHIndia @MORTHRoadSafety itin_gadkari @RoadkillsIndia
Warning: Horrific video…source social media#street murder pic.twitter.com/dwls5tdzp8— Milind Pariwakam (@MilindPariwakam) 20 June 2022
Parivakam tagged India’s Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. “That’s what we’re doing for our wildlife. It’s a simple matter of poor planning. More importantly, we’re building unsafe roads for citizens. @OfficeOfNG @MORTHIndia @MORTHRoadSafety @nitin_gadkari @RoadkillsIndia WARNING: Horrific video… source social media #roadkills,” Parivakam tweeted.
Bollywood actress Raveena Tandon also shared a clip of the video which shows the leopard running away after the accident.
Praying for this beautiful leopard… Hoping that he would survive, even though he was badly injured, he ran into the forest. @WildLense_India I hope that our politicians will wake up to the fact that linear growth can go hand in hand with well thought out methods of conservation. pic.twitter.com/KbdhgRoaZS
– Raveena Tandon (and Raveena Tandon) 20 June 2022
Tandon wrote in the caption, “Praying for this beautiful leopard… Hope he survives even though he is badly injured, he escapes into the jungle.” Well thought out methods of conservation. ,
The video has created panic on the internet since it was shared. Indian Forest Service officer Sushant Nanda shared another clip of the incident. He said the leopard was alive and efforts were on to trace and treat it.
Many wanted to know what happened to the leopard. here it is. Injured but managed to avoid imminent death. Efforts are on to locate and treat the injured. https://t.co/meXkRYWUH9 pic.twitter.com/v4puxEsYYw
— sushant nanda ifs (@sushantananda3) 20 June 2022
“Many wanted to know what happened to the leopard. here it is. Injured but managed to avoid imminent death. Efforts are on to trace and treat the injured person,” Nanda tweeted. He said that the incident took place at Chandanpuri Ghat on the Pune-Nashik Highway.
In the past, leopard deaths have been reported from across the country, allegedly after being hit by vehicles. Recently, at least four animals, including three hog deer and a leopard were killed in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park when they were trying to take refuge in highland areas to get some relief from floods. For a long time, wildlife activists have been calling for wildlife-friendly measures such as the construction of underpasses on highways.