Anything mountain man Blažo Grković from Bosnia Herzegovina can do, a 54 year old Indian widow can do better .... well almost.
If you recall, Mr Grković fought off and killed a brown bear with his bare hands, while protecting his flock of sheep, and I posted on it, to scepticism in some quarters .... so steady yourselves while I recount the tale of Kamla Devi from Koti Bodna village in Uttarakhand.
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| Leopard Attacks Increasing In India |
If you recall, Mr Grković fought off and killed a brown bear with his bare hands, while protecting his flock of sheep, and I posted on it, to scepticism in some quarters .... so steady yourselves while I recount the tale of Kamla Devi from Koti Bodna village in Uttarakhand.
She was gathering wood and grass fodder in the local jungle with a small
hand sickle and a spade, but was carrying water from a canal to her
crop field when a full grown leopard attacked .... it was probably
attracted by her previously bent position, as leopards, like most big
cats prefer to go for the neck of prey and stalk attack from behind.
In any event, Mrs Devi fought back and in a battle that is believed to have lasted between 30 minutes and an hour, she eventually won free and staggered back to her village before collapsing.She needed over 100 stitches and game wardens found the leopards body near the scene of the battle she had described to her helpers ..... a local wildlife expert told the press that 'This is possibly the first case of its kind' which he admitted was all the more remarkable as 'leopards rarely back down' in a fight.
When asked about it in hospital she said,“The leopard lunged at me many times and we fought for a long time. I got hold of my sickle and fought with it. That's when the leopard was killed." .... when praised for her courage she said "I gathered my courage to fight back. I promised myself that this is not my last day here.”
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| Mrs Devi Survived The Fight |
In any event, Mrs Devi fought back and in a battle that is believed to have lasted between 30 minutes and an hour, she eventually won free and staggered back to her village before collapsing.She needed over 100 stitches and game wardens found the leopards body near the scene of the battle she had described to her helpers ..... a local wildlife expert told the press that 'This is possibly the first case of its kind' which he admitted was all the more remarkable as 'leopards rarely back down' in a fight.
When asked about it in hospital she said,“The leopard lunged at me many times and we fought for a long time. I got hold of my sickle and fought with it. That's when the leopard was killed." .... when praised for her courage she said "I gathered my courage to fight back. I promised myself that this is not my last day here.”
If I had a choice between a knife and sickle to combat a leopard, the sickle wins hands-down. Unfortunately, situations rarely offer these sort of choices and even less warning so Mrs Devi did well to escape with her life.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say 'Unfortunately, situations rarely offer these sort of choices' I am assuming that you not meaning that its a pity that you don't get the chance to be able to make the decision to whip out your trusty sickle (discarding your Swiss army knife), and do battle in a man versus beast moment! LOL ... still it conjures up an interesting image Vroomfondel
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